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. ¹ 

For he has judged ²  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ³  poured out by her own hands!” ⁴ 

19:3 Then ⁵  a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. ⁶ 

Jude 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Jude, ⁷  a slave ⁸  of Jesus Christ and brother of James, ⁹  to those who are called, wrapped in the love of ¹⁰  God the Father and kept for ¹¹  Jesus Christ.

Psalms 48:11

48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;

the towns ¹²  of Judah are happy, ¹³ 

because of your acts of judgment. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 58:10

58:10 The godly ¹⁵  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psalms 96:11-13

96:11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy!

Let the sea and everything in it shout!

96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!

Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy

96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ¹⁶ 

and the nations in accordance with his justice. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 107:42

107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,

and every sinner ¹⁸  shuts his mouth.

Psalms 109:28

109:28 They curse, but you will bless. ¹⁹ 

When they attack, they will be humiliated, ²⁰ 

but your servant will rejoice.

Proverbs 11:10

11:10 When the righteous do well, ²¹  the city rejoices; ²² 

when the wicked perish, there is joy.

Isaiah 44:23

44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; ²³ 

shout out, you subterranean regions ²⁴  of the earth.

O mountains, give a joyful shout;

you too, O forest and all your trees! ²⁵ 

For the Lord protects ²⁶  Jacob;

he reveals his splendor through Israel. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 49:13

49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! ²⁸ 

Rejoice, O earth!

Let the mountains give a joyful shout!

For the Lord consoles his people

and shows compassion to the ²⁹  oppressed.

Jeremiah 51:47-48

51:47 “So the time will certainly come ³⁰ 

when I will punish the idols of Babylon.

Her whole land will be put to shame.

All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst. ³¹ 

51:48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them

will sing for joy over Babylon.

For destroyers from the north will attack it,”

says the Lord. ³² 

[19:2]  ¹ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ² 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]  ³ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).

[19:3]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:3]  ⁶ tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “Judas,” traditionally “Jude” in English versions to distinguish him from the one who betrayed Jesus. The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁹ sn Although Jude was half-brother of Jesus, he humbly associates himself with James, his full brother. By first calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ, it is evident that he wants no one to place stock in his physical connections. At the same time, he must identify himself further: Since Jude was a common name in the 1st century (two of Jesus’ disciples were so named, including his betrayer), more information was needed, that is to say, brother of James.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “loved in.” The perfect passive participle suggests that the audience’s relationship to God is not recent; the preposition ἐν (en) before πατρί (patri) could be taken as sphere or instrument (agency is unlikely, however). Another possible translation would be “dear to God.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in light of the well-worn idiom of τηρέω (threw) in eschatological contexts, in which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23; 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]), it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be] kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays; this may be a hint of things to come.

[48:11]  ¹² tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[48:11]  ¹³ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)

[48:11]  ¹⁴ sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.

[58:10]  ¹⁵ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[96:13]  ¹⁶ tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”

[96:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”

[107:42]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.

[109:28]  ¹⁹ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).

[109:28]  ²⁰ tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.

[11:10]  ²¹ tn The text has “in the good [בְּטוֹב, bÿtov] of the righteous,” meaning when they do well, when they prosper. Cf. NCV, NLT “succeed”; TEV “have good fortune.”

[11:10]  ²² sn The verb תַּעֲלֹץ (ta’alots, “to rejoice; to exult”) is paralleled with the noun רִנָּה (rinnah, “ringing cry”). The descriptions are hyperbolic, except when the person who dies is one who afflicted society (e.g., 2 Kgs 11:20; Esth 8:15). D. Kidner says, “However drab the world makes out virtue to be, it appreciates the boon of it in public life” (Proverbs [TOTC], 91).

[44:23]  ²³ tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”

[44:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.

[44:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”

[44:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ²⁷ tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”

[49:13]  ²⁸ tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[49:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[51:47]  ³⁰ tn Heb “That being so, look, days are approaching.” לָכֵן (lakhen) often introduces the effect of an action. That may be the case here, the turmoil outlined in v. 46 serving as the catalyst for the culminating divine judgment described in v. 47. Another possibility is that לָכֵן here has an asseverative force (“certainly”), as in Isa 26:14 and perhaps Jer 5:2 (see the note there). In this case the word almost has the force of “for, since,” because it presents a cause for an accompanying effect. See Judg 8:7 and the discussion of Isa 26:14 in BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.

[51:47]  ³¹ tn Or “all her slain will fall in her midst.” In other words, her people will be overtaken by judgment and be unable to escape. The dead will lie in heaps in the very heart of the city and land.

[51:48]  ³² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”