Isaiah 26:13

26:13 O Lord, our God,

masters other than you have ruled us,

but we praise your name alone.

Isaiah 61:10

61:10 I ¹  will greatly rejoice ²  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ³ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ⁴ 

I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;

I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. ⁵ 

Exodus 15:2

15:2 The Lord ⁶  is my strength and my song, ⁷ 

and he has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise him, ⁸ 

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Exodus 15:1

The Song of Triumph

15:1 ⁹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang ¹⁰  this song to the Lord. They said, ¹¹ 

“I will sing ¹²  to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, ¹³ 

the horse and its rider ¹⁴  he has thrown into the sea.

Exodus 29:10-20

29:10 “You are to present the bull at the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to put ¹⁵  their hands on the head ¹⁶  of the bull. 29:11 You are to kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting 29:12 and take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar ¹⁷  with your finger; all the rest of ¹⁸  the blood you are to pour out at the base of the altar. 29:13 You are to take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe ¹⁹  that is above the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them ²⁰  on the altar. 29:14 But the meat of the bull, its skin, and its dung you are to burn up ²¹  outside the camp. ²²  It is the purification offering. ²³ 

29:15 “You are to take one ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head, 29:16 and you are to kill the ram and take its blood and splash it all around on the altar. 29:17 Then you are to cut the ram into pieces and wash the entrails and its legs and put them on its pieces and on its head 29:18 and burn ²⁴  the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering ²⁵  to the Lord, a soothing aroma; it is an offering made by fire ²⁶  to the Lord. ²⁷ 

29:19 “You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head, 29:20 and you are to kill the ram and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, ²⁸  and then splash the blood all around on the altar.

Psalms 99:5

99:5 Praise ²⁹  the Lord our God!

Worship ³⁰  before his footstool!

He is holy!

Psalms 118:28

118:28 You are my ³¹  God and I will give you thanks!

You are my God and I will praise you!

Psalms 145:1

Psalm 145 ³² 

A psalm of praise, by David.

145:1 I will extol you, my God, O king!

I will praise your name continually! ³³ 

Psalms 146:2

146:2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live!

I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist!

Revelation 5:9-14

5:9 They were singing a new song: ³⁴ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ³⁵ 

and at the cost of your own blood ³⁶  you have purchased ³⁷  for God

persons ³⁸  from every tribe, language, ³⁹  people, and nation.

5:10 You have appointed ⁴⁰  them ⁴¹  as a kingdom and priests ⁴²  to serve ⁴³  our God, and they will reign ⁴⁴  on the earth.”

5:11 Then ⁴⁵  I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their ⁴⁶  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ⁴⁷  – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom ⁴⁸  were singing ⁴⁹  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ⁵⁰ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

5:13 Then ⁵¹  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ⁵² 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ⁵³  forever and ever!”

5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground ⁵⁴  and worshiped.

Revelation 7:12

7:12 saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,

and wisdom and thanksgiving,

and honor and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

[61:10]  ¹ sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.

[61:10]  ² tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[61:10]  ³ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

[61:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

[61:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”

[15:2]  ⁷ tn The word וְזִמְרָת (vÿzimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength – “strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line – only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.

[15:1]  ⁹ sn This chapter is a song of praise sung by Moses and the people right after the deliverance from the Sea. The song itself is vv. 1b-18; it falls into three sections – praise to God (1b-3), the cause for the praise (4-13), and the conclusion (14-18). The point of the first section is that God’s saving acts inspire praise from his people; the second is that God’s powerful acts deliver his people from the forces of evil; and the third section is that God’s demonstrations of his sovereignty inspire confidence in him by his people. So the Victory Song is very much like the other declarative praise psalms – the resolve to praise, the power of God, the victory over the enemies, the incomparability of God in his redemption, and the fear of the people. See also C. Cohen, “Studies in Early Israelite Poetry I: An Unrecognized Case of Three Line Staircase Parallelism in the Song of the Sea,” JANESCU 7 (1975): 13-17; D. N. Freedman, “Strophe and Meter in Exodus 15,” A Light unto My Path, 163-203; E. Levine, “Neofiti I: A Study of Exodus 15,” Bib 54 (1973): 301-30; T. C. Butler, “‘The Song of the Sea’: Exodus 15:1-18: A Study in the Exegesis of Hebrew Poetry,” DissAb 32 (1971): 2782-A.

[15:1]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is יָשִׁיר (yashir), a normal imperfect tense form. But after the adverb “then” this form is to be treated as a preterite (see GKC 314-15 §107.c).

[15:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they said, saying.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:1]  ¹² tn The form is the singular cohortative, expressing the resolution of Moses to sing the song of praise (“I will” being stronger than “I shall”).

[15:1]  ¹³ tn This causal clause gives the reason for and summary of the praise. The Hebrew expression has כִּי־גָּאֹה גָּאָה (ki ga’oh ga’ah). The basic idea of the verb is “rise up loftily” or “proudly.” But derivatives of the root carry the nuance of majesty or pride (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 132). So the idea of the perfect tense with its infinitive absolute may mean “he is highly exalted” or “he has done majestically” or “he is gloriously glorious.”

[15:1]  ¹⁴ sn The common understanding is that Egypt did not have people riding horses at this time, and so the phrase the horse and its rider is either viewed as an anachronism or is interpreted to mean charioteers. The word “to ride” can mean on a horse or in a chariot. Some have suggested changing “rider” to “chariot” (re-vocalization) to read “the horse and its chariot.”

[29:10]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is singular, agreeing with the first of the compound subject – Aaron.

[29:10]  ¹⁶ sn The details of these offerings have to be determined from a careful study of Leviticus. There is a good deal of debate over the meaning of laying hands on the animals. At the very least it identifies the animal formally as their sacrifice. But it may very well indicate that the animal is a substitute for them as well, given the nature and the effect of the sacrifices.

[29:12]  ¹⁷ sn This act seems to have signified the efficacious nature of the blood, since the horns represented power. This is part of the ritual of the sin offering for laity, because before the priests become priests they are treated as laity. The offering is better described as a purification offering rather than a sin offering, because it was offered, according to Leviticus, for both sins and impurities. Moreover, it was offered primarily to purify the sanctuary so that the once-defiled or sinful person could enter (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB]).

[29:12]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase “rest of” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[29:13]  ¹⁹ tn S. R. Driver suggests that this is the appendix or an appendix, both here and in v. 22 (Exodus, 320). “The surplus, the appendage of liver, found with cow, sheep, or goat, but not with humans: Lobus caudatus” (HALOT 453 s.v. יֹתֶרֶת).

[29:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “turn [them] into sweet smoke” since the word is used for burning incense.

[29:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “burn with fire.”

[29:14]  ²² sn This is to be done because there is no priesthood yet. Once they are installed, then the sin/purification offering is to be eaten by the officiating priests as a sign that the offering was received. But priests could not consume their own sin offering.

[29:14]  ²³ sn There were two kinds of “purification offering,” those made with confession for sin and those made without. The title needs to cover both of them, and if it is called in the traditional way “the sin offering,” that will convey that when people offered it for skin diseases, menstruation, or having babies, they had sinned. That was not the case. Moreover, it is usual to translate the names of the sacrifices by what they do more than what they cover – so peace offering, reparation offering, and purification offering.

[29:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “turn to sweet smoke.”

[29:18]  ²⁵ sn According to Lev 1 the burnt offering (often called whole burnt offering, except that the skins were usually given to the priests for income) was an atoning sacrifice. By consuming the entire animal, God was indicating that he had completely accepted the worshiper, and as it was a sweet smelling fire sacrifice, he was indicating that he was pleased to accept it. By offering the entire animal, the worshiper was indicating on his part a complete surrender to God.

[29:18]  ²⁶ tn The word אִשֶּׁה (’isheh) has traditionally been translated “an offering made with fire” or the like, because it appears so obviously connected with fire. But further evidence from Ugaritic suggests that it might only mean “a gift” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 161).

[29:18]  ²⁷ sn These sections show that the priest had to be purified or cleansed from defilement of sin and also be atoned for and accepted by the Lord through the blood of the sacrifice. The principles from these two sacrifices should be basic to anyone seeking to serve God.

[29:20]  ²⁸ sn By this ritual the priests were set apart completely to the service of God. The ear represented the organ of hearing (as in “ears you have dug” in Ps 40 or “awakens my ear” in Isa 50), and this had to be set apart to God so that they could hear the Word of God. The thumb and the hand represented the instrument to be used for all ministry, and so everything that they “put their hand to” had to be dedicated to God and appropriate for his service. The toe set the foot apart to God, meaning that the walk of the priest had to be consecrated – where he went, how he conducted himself, what life he lived, all belonged to God now.

[99:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “exalt.”

[99:5]  ³⁰ tn Or “bow down.”

[118:28]  ³¹ sn You are my God. The psalmist speaks again (see v. 21), responding to the words of the worshipers (vv. 22-27).

[145:1]  ³² sn Psalm 145. The psalmist praises God because he is a just and merciful king who cares for his people.

[145:1]  ³³ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[5:9]  ³⁴ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ³⁵ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ³⁶ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ³⁷ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ³⁸ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ³⁹ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[5:10]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ⁴³ tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[5:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.

[5:12]  ⁴⁸ tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.

[5:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:13]  ⁵¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ⁵² tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ⁵³ tn Or “dominion.”

[5:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”