Psalms 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ¹ 

It is the God of Israel ²  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ³ 

Psalms 76:12

76:12 He humbles princes; ⁴ 

the kings of the earth regard him as awesome. ⁵ 

Daniel 9:4

9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord, ⁶  great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant ⁷  with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Hebrews 12:29

12:29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire. ⁸ 

Revelation 15:4

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

and glorify ⁹  your name, because you alone are holy? ¹⁰ 

All nations ¹¹  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ¹²  have been revealed.”

[68:35]  ¹ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ² tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ³ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[76:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.

[76:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

[9:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[12:29]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.

[15:4]  ⁹ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ¹² 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.”