Isaiah 40:10

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ¹ 

his military power establishes his rule. ² 

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him. ³ 

Isaiah 49:4

49:4 But I thought, ⁴  “I have worked in vain;

I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” ⁵ 

But the Lord will vindicate me;

my God will reward me. ⁶ 

Revelation 22:12

22:12 (Look! I am coming soon,

and my reward is with me to pay ⁷  each one according to what he has done!

[40:10]  ¹ tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.

[40:10]  ² tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).

[40:10]  ³ tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.

[49:4]  ⁴ tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”

[49:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.

[49:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”

[22:12]  ⁷ tn The Greek term may be translated either “pay” or “pay back” and has something of a double meaning here. However, because of the mention of “wages” (“reward,” another wordplay with two meanings) in the previous clause, the translation “pay” for ἀποδοῦναι (apodounai) was used here.