Psalms 96:7

96:7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,

ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!

Psalms 102:22

102:22 when the nations gather together,

and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. ¹ 

Psalms 117:1

Psalm 117 ² 

117:1 Praise the Lord, all you nations!

Applaud him, all you foreigners! ³ 

Revelation 7:9-12

7:9 After these things I looked, and here was ⁴  an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, ⁵  people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,

“Salvation belongs to our God, ⁶ 

to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

7:11 And all the angels stood ⁷  there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ⁸  before the throne and worshiped God, 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 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.”

[102:22]  ¹ tn “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”

[117:1]  ² sn Psalm 117. The psalmist tells the nations to praise the Lord for his loyal love and faithfulness.

[117:1]  ³ tn Or “peoples” (see Ps 108:3).

[7:9]  ⁴ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[7:9]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[7:10]  ⁶ tn The dative here has been translated as a dative of possession.

[7:11]  ⁷ tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.

[7:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” 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.”

[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.”