Exodus 28:36

28:36 “You are to make a plate ¹  of pure gold and engrave on it the way a seal is engraved: ²  “Holiness to the Lord.” ³ 

Zechariah 14:20

14:20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple ⁴  will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. ⁵ 

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ⁶  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ⁷  who are eager to do good. ⁸ 

Revelation 5:10

5:10 You have appointed ⁹  them ¹⁰  as a kingdom and priests ¹¹  to serve ¹²  our God, and they will reign ¹³  on the earth.”

[28:36]  ¹ tn The word צִּיץ (tsits) seems to mean “a shining thing” and so here a plate of metal. It originally meant “flower,” but they could not write on a flower. So it must have the sense of something worn openly, visible, and shining. The Rabbinic tradition says it was two fingers wide and stretched from ear to ear, but this is an attempt to give details that the Law does not give (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 818).

[28:36]  ² tn Heb “the engravings of a seal”; this phrase is an adverbial accusative of manner.

[28:36]  ³ sn The engraving was a perpetual reminder of the holiness that was due the Lord (Heb “Yahweh”), that all the clothing, the furnishings, and the activities were to come under that description. This corresponded to the symbolism for the whole nation of binding the law between the eyes. It was to be a perpetual reminder of commitment.

[14:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

[14:20]  ⁵ sn In the glory of the messianic age there will be no differences between the sacred (the bowls before the altar) and the profane (the cooking pots in the Lord’s temple) – all will be dedicated to his use.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “for good works.”

[5:10]  ⁹ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ¹⁰ tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

[5:10]  ¹¹ tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ¹² tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ¹³ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.