Yesaya 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹  is the Lord who commands armies! ²  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Yesaya 24:23

24:23 The full moon will be covered up, ³ 

the bright sun ⁴  will be darkened; ⁵ 

for the Lord who commands armies will rule ⁶ 

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ⁷ 

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ⁸ 

Yesaya 35:2

35:2 Let it richly bloom; ⁹ 

let it rejoice and shout with delight! ¹⁰ 

It is given the grandeur ¹¹  of Lebanon,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the grandeur of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

Yesaya 60:1

Zion’s Future Splendor

60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!

The splendor ¹²  of the Lord shines on you!

Yesaya 66:18-19

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ¹³  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ¹⁴  they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ¹⁵  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ¹⁶  Lud ¹⁷  (known for its archers ¹⁸ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹⁹  and to the distant coastlands ²⁰  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

[6:3]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[24:23]  ³ tn Heb “will be ashamed.”

[24:23]  ⁴ tn Or “glow of the sun.”

[24:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).

[24:23]  ⁶ tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”

[24:23]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”

[35:2]  ⁹ tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).

[35:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).

[35:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.

[60:1]  ¹² tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[66:18]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[66:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

[66:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ¹⁶ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ¹⁷ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ¹⁹ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “islands” (NIV).