Mazmur 89:5-8

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ¹  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ² 

89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, ³ 

89:7 a God who is honored ⁴  in the great angelic assembly, ⁵ 

and more awesome than ⁶  all who surround him?

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ⁷ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Mazmur 108:3-5

108:3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord!

I will sing praises to you before foreigners! ⁸ 

108:4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, ⁹ 

and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

108:5 Rise up ¹⁰  above the sky, O God!

May your splendor cover the whole earth! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 148:13-14

148:13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty extends over the earth and sky.

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ¹² 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ¹³ 

Praise the Lord!

Yesaya 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹⁴  is the Lord who commands armies! ¹⁵  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Wahyu 4:9-11

4:9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, ¹⁶  and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 4:10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground ¹⁷  before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns ¹⁸  before his ¹⁹  throne, saying:

4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

since you created all things,

and because of your will they existed and were created!” ²⁰ 

Wahyu 5:12-14

5:12 all of whom ²¹  were singing ²²  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ²³ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

5:13 Then ²⁴  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ²⁵ 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ²⁶  forever and ever!”

5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground ²⁷  and worshiped.

Wahyu 7:12

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!”

[89:5]  ¹ tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.

[89:5]  ² tn Heb “in the assembly of the holy ones.” The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3), but here it refers to God’s heavenly assembly and the angels that surround his throne (see vv. 6-7).

[89:6]  ³ tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the Lord’s heavenly throne.

[89:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “feared.”

[89:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”

[89:7]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “feared by.”

[89:8]  ⁷ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[108:3]  ⁸ tn Or “the peoples.”

[108:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”

[108:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “be exalted.”

[108:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)

[148:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ¹³ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.

[6:3]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.

[4:9]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the twenty-four elders fall down.” 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.”

[4:10]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

[4:10]  ¹⁹ tn The pronoun “his” is understood from the demonstrative force of the article τοῦ (tou) before θρόνου (qronou).

[4:11]  ²⁰ tc The past tense of “they existed” (ἦσαν, hsan) and the order of the expression “they existed and were created” seems backwards both logically and chronologically. The text as it stands is the more difficult reading and seems to have given rise to codex A omitting the final “they were created,” 2329 replacing “they existed” (ἦσαν) with “have come into being” (ἐγένοντο, egeneto), and 046 adding οὐκ (ouk, “not”) before ἦσαν (“they did not exist, [but were created]”). Several mss (1854 2050 Ï^A sa) also attempt to alleviate the problem by replacing ἦσαν with “they are” (εἰσιν, eisin).

[5:12]  ²¹ tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.

[5:12]  ²² tn Grk “saying.”

[5:12]  ²³ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:13]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ²⁵ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ²⁶ tn Or “dominion.”

[5:14]  ²⁷ tn Grk “fell down.” 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.”