Psalms 89:7

89:7 a God who is honored ¹  in the great angelic assembly, ² 

and more awesome than ³  all who surround him?

Jeremiah 10:7-10

10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, ⁴ 

because you deserve to be revered. ⁵ 

For there is no one like you

among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. ⁶ 

10:8 The people of those nations ⁷  are both stupid and foolish.

Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! ⁸ 

10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish ⁹ 

and gold is brought from Uphaz ¹⁰  to cover those idols. ¹¹ 

They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. ¹² 

They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. ¹³ 

They are all made by skillful workers. ¹⁴ 

10:10 The Lord is the only true God.

He is the living God and the everlasting King.

When he shows his anger the earth shakes.

None of the nations can stand up to his fury.

Matthew 10:28

10:28 Do ¹⁵  not be afraid of those who kill the body ¹⁶  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ¹⁷ 

Revelation 14:7

14:7 He declared ¹⁸  in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

Revelation 15:4

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

and glorify ¹⁹  your name, because you alone are holy? ²⁰ 

All nations ²¹  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ²²  have been revealed.”

[89:7]  ¹ tn Heb “feared.”

[89:7]  ² tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”

[89:7]  ³ tn Or perhaps “feared by.”

[10:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[10:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”

[10:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substitution of the abstract for the concrete “royalty, royal power” for “kings” who exercise it.

[10:8]  ⁷ tn Or “Those wise people and kings are…” It is unclear whether the subject is the “they” of the nations in the preceding verse, or the wise people and kings referred to. The text merely has “they.”

[10:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “The instruction of vanities [worthless idols] is wood.” The meaning of this line is a little uncertain. Various proposals have been made to make sense, most of which involve radical emendation of the text. For some examples see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 323-24, fn 6. However, this is probably a case of the bold predication that discussed in GKC 452 §141.d, some examples of which may be seen in Ps 109:4 “I am prayer,” and Ps 120:7 “I am peace.”

[10:9]  ⁹ tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJer^a and 4QJer^b) reflect a Hebrew text that is very different than the traditional MT from which modern Bibles have been translated. The Hebrew text in these two manuscripts is similar to that from which LXX was translated. This is true both in small details and in major aspects where the LXX differs from MT. Most notably, 4QJer^a, 4QJer^b and LXX present a version of Jeremiah about 13% shorter than the longer version found in MT. One example of this shorter text is Jer 10:3-11 in which MT and 4QJer^a both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJer^b both lack vv. 6-8 and 10, which extol the greatness of God. In addition, the latter part of v. 9 is arranged differently in LXX and 4QJer^b. The translation here follows MT which is supported by 4QJer^a.

[10:9]  ¹⁰ tn This is a place of unknown location. It is mentioned again in Dan 10:5. Many emend the word to “Ophir” following the Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum. Ophir was famous for its gold (cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; Job 28:16).

[10:9]  ¹¹ tn The words “to cover those idols” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ¹² tn The words “They are” are not in the text. The text reads merely, “the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the goldsmith.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”

[10:9]  ¹⁴ sn There is an ironic pun in this last line. The Hebrew word translated “skillful workers” is the same word that is translated “wise people” in v. 7. The artisans do their work skillfully but they are not “wise.”

[10:28]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ¹⁶ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[14:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “people, saying.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence. For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

[15:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ²² 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.”