Isaiah 51:9

51:9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ¹ 

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash ²  the Proud One? ³ 

Did you not ⁴  wound the sea monster? ⁵ 

Isaiah 66:18-19

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ⁶  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ⁷  they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ⁸  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ⁹  Lud ¹⁰  (known for its archers ¹¹ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹²  and to the distant coastlands ¹³  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

Psalms 98:1-3

Psalm 98 ¹⁴ 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ¹⁵ 

for he performs ¹⁶  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ¹⁷ 

98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; ¹⁸ 

in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.

98:3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. ¹⁹ 

All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us. ²⁰ 

Acts 2:5-11

2:5 Now there were devout Jews ²¹  from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. ²²  2:6 When this sound ²³  occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion, ²⁴  because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 2:7 Completely baffled, they said, ²⁵  “Aren’t ²⁶  all these who are speaking Galileans? 2:8 And how is it that each one of us hears them ²⁷  in our own native language? ²⁸  2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, ²⁹  2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, ³⁰  and visitors from Rome, ³¹  2:11 both Jews and proselytes, ³²  Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” ³³ 

Revelation 11:15-17

The Seventh Trumpet

11:15 Then ³⁴  the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:

“The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ, ³⁵ 

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

11:16 Then ³⁶  the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ³⁷  and worshiped God 11:17 with these words: ³⁸ 

“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ³⁹ 

the one who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and begun to reign. ⁴⁰ 

Revelation 15:4

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

and glorify ⁴¹  your name, because you alone are holy? ⁴² 

All nations ⁴³  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ⁴⁴  have been revealed.”

[51:9]  ¹ tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.

[51:9]  ² tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”

[51:9]  ³ tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).

[51:9]  ⁴ tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”

[51:9]  ⁵ tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.

[66:18]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[66:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

[66:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ⁹ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ¹⁰ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ¹² sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ¹³ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[98:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ¹⁵ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.

[98:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”

[98:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”

[98:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).

[2:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17, 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (ajnhr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.

[2:5]  ²² tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”

[2:6]  ²³ tn Or “this noise.”

[2:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “was bewildered.”

[2:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “They were astounded and amazed, saying.” The two imperfect verbs, ἐξίσταντο (existanto) and ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon), show both the surprise and the confusion on the part of the hearers. The verb ἐξίσταντο (from ἐξίστημι, existhmi) often implies an illogical perception or response (BDAG 350 s.v. ἐξίστημι): “to be so astonished as to almost fail to comprehend what one has experienced” (L&N 25.218).

[2:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Behold, aren’t all these.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn Grk “we hear them, each one of us.”

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in our own language in which we were born.”

[2:9]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[2:10]  ³⁰ tn According to BDAG 595 s.v. Λιβύη, the western part of Libya, Libya Cyrenaica, is referred to here (see also Josephus, Ant. 16.6.1 [16.160] for a similar phrase).

[2:10]  ³¹ map For location see JP4 A1.

[2:11]  ³² sn Proselytes refers to Gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) converts to Judaism.

[2:11]  ³³ tn Or “God’s mighty works.” Here the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a subjective genitive.

[11:15]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[11:15]  ³⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:16]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[11:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” 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.”

[11:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “saying.”

[11:17]  ³⁹ 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.”

[11:17]  ⁴⁰ tn The aorist verb ἐβασίλευσας (ebasileusa") has been translated ingressively.

[15:4]  ⁴¹ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ⁴⁴ 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.”