“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful! 4
Just 5 and true are your ways,
King over the nations! 6
15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and glorify 7 your name, because you alone are holy? 8
All nations 9 will come and worship before you
for your righteous acts 10 have been revealed.”
“You are just 12 – the one who is and who was,
the Holy One – because you have passed these judgments, 13
19:2 because his judgments are true and just. 14
For he has judged 15 the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,
and has avenged the blood of his servants 16 poured out by her own hands!” 17
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
2 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
3 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
4 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.”
5 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
6 tc Certain
7 tn Or “and praise.”
sn Jeremiah 10:7 probably stands behind the idea of fearing God, and Psalm 86:9-10 stands behind the ideas of glorifying God, his uniqueness, and the nations coming to worship him. Many other OT passages also speak about the nations “coming to his temple” to worship (Isa 2:2-3, 49:22-23, 66:23-24; Micah 4:2; Zech 8:20-22). See G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 796-97.
8 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).
9 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
10 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.”
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the remarks that follow.
12 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
13 tn Or “because you have judged these things.” The pronoun ταῦτα (tauta) is neuter gender.
14 tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.
15 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.
16 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
17 tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).