Psalms 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ¹ 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ² 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

Psalms 103:6

103:6 The Lord does what is fair,

and executes justice for all the oppressed. ³ 

Psalms 145:17

145:17 The Lord is just in all his actions, ⁴ 

and exhibits love in all he does. ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ⁶  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ⁷  and upright.

Ezra 9:15

9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ⁸  no one can really stand before you.”

Nehemiah 9:33

9:33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. ⁹  It is we who have been in the wrong!

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. ¹⁰ 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. ¹¹ 

Why are wicked people successful? ¹² 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

Daniel 9:7

9:7 “You are righteous, ¹³  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ¹⁴  – the people ¹⁵  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you.

Daniel 9:14

9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ¹⁶  in all he has done, ¹⁷  and we have not obeyed him. ¹⁸ 

Romans 2:5

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ¹⁹  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ²⁰ 

Romans 3:5-6

3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates ²¹  the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? ²²  (I am speaking in human terms.) ²³  3:6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world?

Romans 9:14

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

Revelation 15:3-4

15:3 They ²⁴  sang the song of Moses the servant ²⁵  of God and the song of the Lamb: ²⁶ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ²⁷ 

Just ²⁸  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ²⁹ 

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

and glorify ³⁰  your name, because you alone are holy? ³¹ 

All nations ³²  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ³³  have been revealed.”

Revelation 16:7

16:7 Then ³⁴  I heard the altar reply, ³⁵  “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ³⁶  your judgments are true and just!”

Revelation 19:2

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ³⁷ 

For he has judged ³⁸  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ³⁹  poured out by her own hands!” ⁴⁰ 

[99:4]  ¹ tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ² tn Heb “you establish fairness.”

[103:6]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”

[145:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[145:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

[32:4]  ⁶ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ⁷ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “you have done truth.”

[12:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

[12:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

[12:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”

[9:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “men.”

[9:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[3:5]  ²¹ tn Or “shows clearly.”

[3:5]  ²² tn Grk “That God is not unjust to inflict wrath, is he?”

[3:5]  ²³ sn The same expression occurs in Gal 3:15, and similar phrases in Rom 6:19 and 1 Cor 9:8.

[15:3]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ²⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ²⁶ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Or “and praise.”

[15:4]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[15:4]  ³³ 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.”

[16:7]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:7]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the altar saying.”

[16:7]  ³⁶ 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.”

[19:2]  ³⁷ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).