Psalms 72:18-19

72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! ¹ 

He alone accomplishes amazing things! ² 

72:19 His glorious name deserves praise ³  forevermore!

May his majestic splendor ⁴  fill the whole earth!

We agree! We agree! ⁵ 

Psalms 89:52

89:52 ⁶ The Lord deserves praise ⁷  forevermore!

We agree! We agree! ⁸ 

Psalms 106:48

106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, ⁹ 

in the future and forevermore. ¹⁰ 

Let all the people say, “We agree! ¹¹  Praise the Lord!” ¹² 

Psalms 106:1

Psalm 106 ¹³ 

106:1 Praise the Lord!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

and his loyal love endures! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 29:10

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ¹⁵ 

the Lord sits enthroned ¹⁶  as the eternal king.

Ephesians 1:3

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1:3 Blessed ¹⁷  is ¹⁸  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ¹⁹  us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

Revelation 4:8

4:8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings ²⁰  and was full of eyes all around and inside. ²¹  They never rest day or night, saying: ²² 

“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, ²³ 

Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”

Revelation 5:9-14

5:9 They were singing a new song: ²⁴ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ²⁵ 

and at the cost of your own blood ²⁶  you have purchased ²⁷  for God

persons ²⁸  from every tribe, language, ²⁹  people, and nation.

5:10 You have appointed ³⁰  them ³¹  as a kingdom and priests ³²  to serve ³³  our God, and they will reign ³⁴  on the earth.”

5:11 Then ³⁵  I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their ³⁶  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ³⁷  – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom ³⁸  were singing ³⁹  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ⁴⁰ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

5:13 Then ⁴¹  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ⁴² 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ⁴³  forever and ever!”

5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground ⁴⁴  and worshiped.

Revelation 7:12

7:12 saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,

and wisdom and thanksgiving,

and honor and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

Revelation 11:17

11:17 with these words: ⁴⁵ 

“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ⁴⁶ 

the one who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and begun to reign. ⁴⁷ 

[72:18]  ¹ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.

[72:18]  ² tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”

[72:19]  ³ tn Heb “[be] blessed.”

[72:19]  ⁴ tn Or “glory.”

[72:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response of agreement to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[89:52]  ⁶ sn The final verse of Ps 89, v. 52, is a conclusion to this third “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 106:48, respectively).

[89:52]  ⁷ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[89:52]  ⁸ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God; thus it has been translated “We agree! We agree!”

[106:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[106:48]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.”

[106:48]  ¹¹ tn Heb “surely” (אָמֵן, ’amen), traditionally transliterated “amen.”

[106:48]  ¹² sn The final verse (v. 48) is a conclusion to this fourth “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and third “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52, respectively).

[106:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 106. The psalmist recalls Israel’s long history of rebellion against God, despite his mighty saving deeds on their behalf.

[106:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”

[29:10]  ¹⁵ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[1:3]  ¹⁷ sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”

[4:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.

[4:8]  ²¹ tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (eswqen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.

[4:8]  ²² tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”

[4:8]  ²³ 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.”

[5:9]  ²⁴ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ²⁵ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ²⁶ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ²⁷ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ²⁸ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[5:10]  ³⁰ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ³¹ tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

[5:10]  ³² tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ³³ tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ³⁴ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.

[5:11]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:11]  ³⁷ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.

[5:12]  ³⁸ tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.

[5:12]  ³⁹ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:13]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ⁴² tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ⁴³ tn Or “dominion.”

[5:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “fell down.” 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “saying.”

[11:17]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn The aorist verb ἐβασίλευσας (ebasileusa") has been translated ingressively.