Exodus 9:27

9:27 So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! ¹  The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty. ² 

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ³  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ⁴  and upright.

Jude 1:7

1:7 So also ⁵  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ⁶  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ⁷  in a way similar to ⁸  these angels, ⁹  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Ezra 9:13

9:13 “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint ¹⁰  toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this.

Nehemiah 9:33

9:33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. ¹¹  It is we who have been in the wrong!

Psalms 119:75

119:75 I know, Lord, that your regulations ¹²  are just.

You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me. ¹³ 

Psalms 145:17

145:17 The Lord is just in all his actions, ¹⁴ 

and exhibits love in all he does. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ¹⁶ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ¹⁷ 

Why are wicked people successful? ¹⁸ 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Daniel 9:7

9:7 “You are righteous, ¹⁹  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ²⁰  – the people ²¹  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you.

Daniel 9:14

9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ²²  in all he has done, ²³  and we have not obeyed him. ²⁴ 

Zephaniah 3:5

3:5 The just Lord resides ²⁵  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ²⁶ 

Every morning he reveals ²⁷  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ²⁸ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

Romans 2:5

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ²⁹  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ³⁰ 

Romans 3:19

3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under ³¹  the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Revelation 15:3-4

15:3 They ³²  sang the song of Moses the servant ³³  of God and the song of the Lamb: ³⁴ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ³⁵ 

Just ³⁶  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ³⁷ 

15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,

and glorify ³⁸  your name, because you alone are holy? ³⁹ 

All nations ⁴⁰  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ⁴¹  have been revealed.”

Revelation 16:5-7

16:5 Now ⁴²  I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are just ⁴³  – the one who is and who was,

the Holy One – because you have passed these judgments, ⁴⁴ 

16:6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets,

so ⁴⁵  you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!” ⁴⁶ 

16:7 Then ⁴⁷  I heard the altar reply, ⁴⁸  “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ⁴⁹  your judgments are true and just!”

[9:27]  ¹ sn Pharaoh now is struck by the judgment and acknowledges that he is at fault. But the context shows that this penitence was short-lived. What exactly he meant by this confession is uncertain. On the surface his words seem to represent a recognition that he was in the wrong and Yahweh right.

[9:27]  ² tn The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) can mean “ungodly, wicked, guilty, criminal.” Pharaoh here is saying that Yahweh is right, and the Egyptians are not – so they are at fault, guilty. S. R. Driver says the words are used in their forensic sense (in the right or wrong standing legally) and not in the ethical sense of morally right and wrong (Exodus, 75).

[32:4]  ³ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

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

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁹ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[9:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “held back downwards from”; KJV “hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve” (NIV, NRSV, NLT all similar).

[9:33]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you have done truth.”

[119:75]  ¹² tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

[119:75]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”

[145:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[145:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[9:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “men.”

[9:14]  ²² tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ²³ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”

[3:5]  ²⁵ tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.

[3:5]  ²⁶ tn Or “he does no injustice.”

[3:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”

[3:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “at the light he is not missing.” Note that NASB (which capitalizes pronouns referring to Deity) has divided the lines differently: “Every morning He brings His justice to light; // He does not fail.”

[2:5]  ²⁹ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[3:19]  ³¹ tn Grk “in,” “in connection with.”

[15:3]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ³³ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ³⁴ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ³⁵ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[15:3]  ³⁶ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ³⁷ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.

[15:4]  ³⁸ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ³⁹ sn Because you alone are holy. In the Greek text the sentence literally reads “because alone holy.” Three points can be made in connection with John’s language here: (1) Omitting the second person, singular verb “you are” lays stress on the attribute of God’s holiness. (2) The juxtaposition of alone with holy stresses the unique nature of God’s holiness and complete “otherness” in relationship to his creation. It is not just moral purity which is involved in the use of the term holy, though it certainly includes that. It is also the pervasive OT idea that although God is deeply involved in the governing of his creation, he is to be regarded as separate and distinct from it. (3) John’s use of the term holy is also intriguing since it is the term ὅσιος (Josios) and not the more common NT term ἅγιος (Jagios). The former term evokes images of Christ’s messianic status in early Christian preaching. Both Peter in Acts 2:27 and Paul in Acts 13:35 apply Psalm 16:10 (LXX) to Jesus, referring to him as the “holy one” (ὅσιος). It is also the key term in Acts 13:34 (Isa 55:3 [LXX]) where it refers to the “holy blessings” (i.e., forgiveness and justification) brought about through Jesus in fulfillment of Davidic promise. Thus, in Rev 15:3-4, when John refers to God as “holy,” using the term ὅσιος in a context where the emphasis is on both God and Christ, there might be an implicit connection between divinity and the Messiah. This is bolstered by the fact that the Lamb is referred to in other contexts as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (cf. 1:5; 17:14; 19:16 and perhaps 11:15; G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 796-97).

[15:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ⁴¹ tn Or perhaps, “your sentences of condemnation.” On δικαίωμα (dikaiwma) in this context BDAG 249 s.v. 2. states, “righteous deed…δι᾿ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος (opp. παράπτωμα) Ro 5:18. – B 1:2 (cp. Wengst, Barnabas-brief 196, n.4); Rv 15:4 (here perh.= ‘sentence of condemnation’ [cp. Pla., Leg. 9, 864e; ins fr. Asia Minor: LBW 41, 2 [κατὰ] τὸ δι[καί]ωμα τὸ κυρω[θέν]= ‘acc. to the sentence which has become valid’]; difft. Wengst, s. above); 19:8.”

[16:5]  ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the remarks that follow.

[16:5]  ⁴³ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[16:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “because you have judged these things.” The pronoun ταῦτα (tauta) is neuter gender.

[16:6]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this judgment is the result of what these wicked people did to the saints and prophets.

[16:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “They are worthy”; i.e., of this kind of punishment. By extension, “they got what they deserve.”

[16:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “the altar saying.”

[16:7]  ⁴⁹ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”