Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ¹  before you.

Psalms 81:15

81:15 (May those who hate the Lord ²  cower in fear ³  before him!

May they be permanently humiliated!) ⁴ 

Revelation 3:9

3:9 Listen! ⁵  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ⁶  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ⁷  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ⁸  them come and bow down ⁹  at your feet and acknowledge ¹⁰  that I have loved you.

[66:3]  ¹ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[81:15]  ² tn “Those who hate the Lord” are also mentioned in 2 Chr 19:2 and Ps 139:21.

[81:15]  ³ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.

[81:15]  ⁴ tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the Lord. Some propose an emendation to בַּעֲתָתָם (ba’atatam) or בִּעֻתָם (bi’utam; “their terror”; i.e., “may their terror last forever”), but the omission of bet (ב) in the present Hebrew text is difficult to explain, making the proposed emendation unlikely.

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

[3:9]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

[3:9]  ⁹ tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”