Psalms 145:17

145:17 The Lord is just in all his actions, ¹ 

and exhibits love in all he does. ² 

Romans 2:5

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ³  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ⁴ 

Revelation 15:3-4

15:3 They ⁵  sang the song of Moses the servant ⁶  of God and the song of the Lamb: ⁷ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ⁸ 

Just ⁹  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ¹⁰ 

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

and glorify ¹¹  your name, because you alone are holy? ¹² 

All nations ¹³  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ¹⁴  have been revealed.”

Revelation 16:5

16:5 Now ¹⁵  I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are just ¹⁶  – the one who is and who was,

the Holy One – because you have passed these judgments, ¹⁷ 

Revelation 19:1-3

19:1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ¹⁸ 

For he has judged ¹⁹  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ²⁰  poured out by her own hands!” ²¹ 

19:3 Then ²²  a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. ²³ 

[145:17]  ¹ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[145:17]  ² tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

[2:5]  ³ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[15:3]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ⁶ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ⁸ 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.”

[15:3]  ⁹ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ¹⁰ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.

[15:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ¹⁴ 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.”

[16:5]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the remarks that follow.

[16:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[16:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “because you have judged these things.” The pronoun ταῦτα (tauta) is neuter gender.

[19:2]  ¹⁸ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).

[19:3]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:3]  ²³ tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”