Keluaran 15:11

15:11 Who is like you, ¹  O Lord, among the gods? ² 

Who is like you? – majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, ³  working wonders?

Ulangan 32:4

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

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ⁵  and upright.

Mazmur 99:5

99:5 Praise ⁶  the Lord our God!

Worship ⁷  before his footstool!

He is holy!

Mazmur 99:9

99:9 Praise ⁸  the Lord our God!

Worship on his holy hill,

for the Lord our God is holy!

Mazmur 111:9

111:9 He delivered his people; ⁹ 

he ordained that his covenant be observed forever. ¹⁰ 

His name is holy and awesome.

Yesaya 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹¹  is the Lord who commands armies! ¹²  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Yesaya 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹³  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ¹⁴ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 57:1

57:1 The godly ¹⁶  perish,

but no one cares. ¹⁷ 

Honest people disappear, ¹⁸ 

when no one ¹⁹  minds ²⁰ 

that the godly ²¹  disappear ²²  because of ²³  evil. ²⁴ 

Pengkhotbah 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ²⁵ 

“I have become much wiser ²⁶  than any of my predecessors who ruled ²⁷  over Jerusalem; ²⁸ 

I ²⁹  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ³⁰ 

Roma 4:8

4:8 blessed is the one ³¹  against whom the Lord will never count ³²  sin.” ³³ 

Roma 15:4

15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.

[15:11]  ¹ tn The question is of course rhetorical; it is a way of affirming that no one is comparable to God. See C. J. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 22, 66-67, and 94-97.

[15:11]  ² sn Verses 11-17 will now focus on Yahweh as the incomparable one who was able to save Israel from their foes and afterward lead them to the promised land.

[15:11]  ³ tn S. R. Driver suggests “praiseworthy acts” as the translation (Exodus, 137).

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

[32:4]  sn The Hebrew term depicts God as a rocky summit where one may find safety and protection. Within a covenantal context it serves as a reminder to the people that their God has committed himself to their protection in return for their allegiance.

[32:4]  ⁵ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[99:5]  ⁶ tn Or “exalt.”

[99:5]  ⁷ tn Or “bow down.”

[99:9]  ⁸ tn Or “exalt.”

[111:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “redemption he sent for his people.”

[111:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he commanded forever his covenant.”

[6:3]  ¹¹ tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

[6:3]  sn Or “The Lord who commands armies has absolute sovereign authority!” The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” In this context the Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. Note the emphasis on the elevated position of his throne in v. 1 and his designation as “the king” in v. 5. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. He is “set apart” from his subjects in a moral sense as well. He sets the standard; they fall short of it. Note that in v. 5 Isaiah laments that he is morally unworthy to be in the king’s presence.

[6:3]  ¹² tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.

[57:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[57:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”

[57:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”

[57:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.

[57:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:1]  ²¹ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”

[57:1]  ²² tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ²³ tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).

[57:1]  ²⁴ tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.

[1:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.

[1:16]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”

[4:8]  ³¹ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ³² tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.