Exodus 15:11

15:11 Who is like you, ¹  O Lord, among the gods? ² 

Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, ³  working wonders?

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ⁴  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ⁵  and upright.

Psalms 99:5

99:5 Praise ⁶  the Lord our God!

Worship ⁷  before his footstool!

He is holy!

Psalms 99:9

99:9 Praise ⁸  the Lord our God!

Worship on his holy hill,

for the Lord our God is holy!

Psalms 111:9

111:9 He delivered his people; ⁹ 

he ordained that his covenant be observed forever. ¹⁰ 

His name is holy and awesome.

Isaiah 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹¹  is the Lord who commands armies! ¹²  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Isaiah 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹³  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ¹⁴ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 57:1

57:1 The godly ¹⁶  perish,

but no one cares. ¹⁷ 

Honest people disappear, ¹⁸ 

when no one ¹⁹  minds ²⁰ 

that the godly ²¹  disappear ²²  because of ²³  evil. ²⁴ 

Isaiah 1:16

1:16 ²⁵ Wash! Cleanse yourselves!

Remove your sinful deeds ²⁶ 

from my sight.

Stop sinning!

Romans 4:8

4:8 blessed is the one ²⁷  against whom the Lord will never count ²⁸  sin.” ²⁹ 

Romans 15:4

15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.

[15:11]  ¹ tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.

[15:11]  ² sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.

[15:11]  ³ tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).

[32:4]  ⁴ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ⁵ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[99:5]  ⁶ tn Or “exalt.”

[99:5]  ⁷ tn Or “bow down.”

[99:9]  ⁸ tn Or “exalt.”

[111:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “redemption he sent for his people.”

[111:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he commanded forever his covenant.”

[6:3]  ¹¹ tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

[6:3]  ¹² tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[57:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[57:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”

[57:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”

[57:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.

[57:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:1]  ²¹ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”

[57:1]  ²² tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ²³ tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).

[57:1]  ²⁴ tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.

[1:16]  ²⁵ sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.

[1:16]  ²⁶ sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun ַמעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma’alleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).

[4:8]  ²⁷ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ²⁸ tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.