Exodus 9:16-17

9:16 But ¹  for this purpose I have caused you to stand: ²  to show you ³  my strength, and so that my name may be declared ⁴  in all the earth. 9:17 You are still exalting ⁵  yourself against my people by ⁶  not releasing them.

Psalms 93:3-4

93:3 The waves ⁷  roar, O Lord,

the waves roar,

the waves roar and crash. ⁸ 

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ⁹ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 10:10-14

10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, ¹¹ 

whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s ¹²  or Samaria’s.

10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,

so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” ¹³ 

10:12 But when ¹⁴  the sovereign master ¹⁵  finishes judging ¹⁶  Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I ¹⁷  will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. ¹⁸  10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ¹⁹ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ²⁰  I brought down rulers. ²¹ 

10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,

as one gathers up abandoned eggs,

I gathered up the whole earth.

There was no wing flapping,

or open mouth chirping.” ²² 

Isaiah 10:33

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ²³ 

The tallest trees ²⁴  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Isaiah 24:21

The Lord Will Become King

24:21 At that time ²⁵  the Lord will punish ²⁶ 

the heavenly forces in the heavens ²⁷ 

and the earthly kings on the earth.

Daniel 4:11

4:11 The tree grew large and strong.

Its top reached far into the sky;

it could be seen ²⁸  from the borders of all the land. ²⁹ 

Daniel 5:18-23

5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ³⁰  5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ³¹  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ³²  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 5:20 And when his mind ³³  became arrogant ³⁴  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ³⁵  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ³⁶  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

5:22 “But you, his son ³⁷  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ³⁸  although you knew all this. 5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ³⁹  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ⁴⁰  your very breath and all your ways!

Daniel 5:2

5:2 While under the influence ⁴¹  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ⁴²  had confiscated ⁴³  from the temple in Jerusalem ⁴⁴  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ⁴⁵ 

Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ⁴⁶ ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ⁴⁷  interpretation.”

Revelation 13:1-8

The Two Beasts

13:1 Then ⁴⁸  I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It ⁴⁹  had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, ⁵⁰  and on its heads a blasphemous name. ⁵¹  13:2 Now ⁵²  the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The ⁵³  dragon gave the beast ⁵⁴  his power, his throne, and great authority to rule. ⁵⁵  13:3 One of the beast’s ⁵⁶  heads appeared to have been killed, ⁵⁷  but the lethal wound had been healed. ⁵⁸  And the whole world followed ⁵⁹  the beast in amazement; 13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority ⁶⁰  to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” ⁶¹  13:5 The beast ⁶²  was given a mouth speaking proud words ⁶³  and blasphemies, and he was permitted ⁶⁴  to exercise ruling authority ⁶⁵  for forty-two months. 13:6 So ⁶⁶  the beast ⁶⁷  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, ⁶⁸  that is, those who dwell in heaven. 13:7 The beast ⁶⁹  was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. ⁷⁰  He was given ruling authority ⁷¹  over every tribe, people, ⁷²  language, and nation, 13:8 and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, ⁷³  everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world ⁷⁴  in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed. ⁷⁵ 

[9:16]  ¹ tn The first word is a very strong adversative, which, in general, can be translated “but, howbeit”; BDB 19 s.v. אוּלָם suggests for this passage “but in very deed.”

[9:16]  ² tn The form הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךָ (he’emadtikha) is the Hiphil perfect of עָמַד (’amad). It would normally mean “I caused you to stand.” But that seems to have one or two different connotations. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 73) says that it means “maintain you alive.” The causative of this verb means “continue,” according to him. The LXX has the same basic sense – “you were preserved.” But Paul bypasses the Greek and writes “he raised you up” to show God’s absolute sovereignty over Pharaoh. Both renderings show God’s sovereign control over Pharaoh.

[9:16]  ³ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct הַרְאֹתְךָ (har’otÿkha) is the purpose of God’s making Pharaoh come to power in the first place. To make Pharaoh see is to cause him to understand, to experience God’s power.

[9:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “in order to declare my name.” Since there is no expressed subject, this may be given a passive translation.

[9:17]  ⁵ tn מִסְתּוֹלֵל (mistolel) is a Hitpael participle, from a root that means “raise up, obstruct.” So in the Hitpael it means to “raise oneself up,” “elevate oneself,” or “be an obstructionist.” See W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:363; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 116.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn The infinitive construct with lamed here is epexegetical; it explains how Pharaoh has exalted himself – “by not releasing the people.”

[93:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).

[93:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”

[93:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Just as my hand found the kingdoms of the idol[s].” The comparison is expanded in v. 11a (note “as”) and completed in v. 11b (note “so”).

[10:10]  ¹² map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:11]  ¹³ tn The statement is constructed as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text: “Is it not [true that] just as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols?”

[10:12]  ¹⁴ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[10:12]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[10:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”

[10:12]  ¹⁷ tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.

[10:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.

[10:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ²⁰ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[10:14]  ²² sn The Assyrians’ conquests were relatively unopposed, like robbing a bird’s nest of its eggs when the mother bird is absent.

[10:33]  ²³ tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[24:21]  ²⁵ tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”

[24:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).

[4:11]  ²⁸ tn Aram “its sight.” So also v. 17.

[4:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “to the end of all the earth” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “from anywhere on earth.”

[5:18]  ³⁰ tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.

[5:19]  ³¹ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

[5:19]  ³² tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

[5:20]  ³³ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ³⁴ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

[5:21]  ³⁵ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ³⁶ tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[5:22]  ³⁷ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ³⁸ tn Aram “your heart.”

[5:23]  ³⁹ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”

[5:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).

[5:2]  ⁴² tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.

[5:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “taken.”

[5:2]  ⁴⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ⁴⁵ sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.

[2:4]  ⁴⁶ sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. Most likely the change in language is a reflection of stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel.

[2:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “the.”

[13:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[13:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “having” (a continuation of the previous sentence). All of the pronouns referring to this beast (along with the second beast appearing in 13:11) could be translated as “it” because the word for beast (θηρίον, qhrion) is neuter gender in Greek and all the pronouns related to it are parsed as neuter in the Gramcord/Accordance database. Nevertheless, most interpreters would agree that the beast ultimately represents a human ruler, so beginning at the end of v. 4 the masculine pronouns (“he,” “him,” etc.) are used to refer to the first beast as well as the second beast appearing in 13:11.

[13:1]  ⁵⁰ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[13:1]  ⁵¹ tc ‡ Several mss (A 051 1611 1854 2053 2344 2351 Ï^K) read the plural ὀνόματα (onomata, “[blasphemous] names”), while the singular ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) has somewhat better support (Ì⁴⁷ א C 1006 1841 2329 Ï^A). The plural reading seems motivated by the fact that what is written is written “on its heads.” In the least, it is a clarifying reading. NA²⁷ puts the plural in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[13:2]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the following description of the beast.

[13:2]  ⁵³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “gave it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:2]  ⁵⁵ tn For the translation “authority to rule” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “one of its heads”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “killed to death,” an expression emphatic in its redundancy. The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. In this instance, the appearance of the beast’s head did not match reality, because the next phrase shows that in fact it did not die. This text does not affirm that the beast died and was resurrected, but some draw this conclusion because of the only other use of the phrase, which refers to Jesus in 5:6.

[13:3]  ⁵⁸ tn The phrase τοῦ θανάτου (tou qanatou) can be translated as an attributive genitive (“deathly wound”) or an objective genitive (the wound which caused death) and the final αὐτοῦ (autou) is either possessive or reference/respect.

[13:3]  ⁵⁹ tn On the phrase “the whole world followed the beast in amazement,” BDAG 445 s.v. θαυμάζω 2 states, “wonder, be amazed…Rv 17:8. In pregnant constr. ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τ. θηρίου the whole world followed the beast, full of wonder 13:3 (here wonder becomes worship: cp. Ael. Aristid. 13 p. 290 D.; 39 p. 747 of Dionysus and Heracles, οἳ ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐθαυμάσθησαν. Sir 7:29; Jos., Ant. 3, 65. – The act. is also found in this sense: Cebes 2, 3 θ. τινά = ‘admire’ or ‘venerate’ someone; Epict. 1, 17, 19 θ. τὸν θεόν).”

[13:4]  ⁶⁰ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:4]  ⁶¹ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[13:5]  ⁶² tn Grk “and there was given to him.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:5]  ⁶³ tn For the translation “proud words” (Grk “great things” or “important things”) see BDAG 624 s.v. μέγας 4.b.

[13:5]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “to it was granted.”

[13:5]  ⁶⁵ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

[13:6]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ⁶⁸ tc The reading “and his dwelling place” does not occur in codex C, but its omission is probably due to scribal oversight since the phrase has the same ending as the phrase before it, i.e., they both end in “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou). This is similar to the mistake this scribe made in 12:14 with the omission of the reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou).

[13:7]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “and it was given to him to go to war.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:7]  ⁷⁰ tc Many mss omit the phrase “it was given to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Ì⁴⁷ A C 2053 Ï^A sa). It is, however, found in Ì^115vid א 051 1006 (1611) 1841 (1854) 2329 2344 2351 (Ï^K) lat sy^ph,(h) bo. Although the ms evidence is somewhat in favor of the shorter reading, the support of ̹¹⁵ (a recently-discovered ms) for the longer reading balances things out. Normally, the shorter reading should be given preference. However, in an instance in which homoioteleuton could play a role, caution must be exercised. In this passage, accidental omission is quite likely. That this could have happened seems apparent from the two occurrences of the identical phrase “and it was given to him” (καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ, kai edoqh autw) in v. 7. The scribe’s eye skipped over the first καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ and went to the second, hence creating an accidental omission of eleven words.

[13:7]  ⁷¹ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:7]  ⁷² tn Grk “and people,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[13:8]  ⁷³ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:8]  ⁷⁴ tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.

[13:8]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”