Keluaran 19:16

19:16 On ¹  the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense ²  cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud ³  horn; ⁴  all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Keluaran 19:19

19:19 When the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, ⁵  Moses was speaking ⁶  and God was answering him with a voice. ⁷ 

Mazmur 119:120

119:120 My body ⁸  trembles ⁹  because I fear you; ¹⁰ 

I am afraid of your judgments.

Yesaya 6:3-5

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!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, ¹³  and the temple was filled with smoke.

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, ¹⁴  for my lips are contaminated by sin, ¹⁵  and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. ¹⁶  My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” ¹⁷ 

Daniel 10:8

10:8 I alone was left to see this great vision. My strength drained from ¹⁸  me, and my vigor disappeared; ¹⁹  I was without energy. ²⁰ 

Daniel 10:17

10:17 How, sir, am I able to speak with you? ²¹  My strength is gone, ²²  and I am breathless.”

Wahyu 1:17

1:17 When ²³  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ²⁴  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last,

[19:16]  ¹ tn Heb “and it was on.”

[19:16]  ² tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).

[19:16]  ³ tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).

[19:16]  ⁴ tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).

[19:19]  ⁵ tn The active participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh) is used to add the idea of “continually” to the action of the sentence; here the trumpet became very loud – continually. See GKC 344 §113.u.

[19:19]  ⁶ tn The two verbs here (“spoke” and “answered”) are imperfect tenses; they emphasize repeated action but in past time. The customary imperfect usually is translated “would” or “used to” do the action, but here continuous action in past time is meant. S. R. Driver translates it “kept speaking” and “kept answering” (Exodus, 172).

[19:19]  ⁷ tn The text simply has בְּקוֹל (bÿqol); it could mean “with a voice” or it could mean “in thunder” since “voice” was used in v. 16 for thunder. In this context it would be natural to say that the repeated thunderings were the voice of God – but how is that an answer? Deut 4:12 says that the people heard the sound of words. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 232-33) rightly comments, “He was answering him with a loud voice so that it was possible for Moses to hear His words clearly in the midst of the storm.” He then draws a parallel from Ugaritic where it tells that one of the gods was speaking in a loud voice.

[119:120]  ⁸ tn Heb “my flesh.”

[119:120]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb סָמַר (samar, “to tremble”) occurs only here and in Job 4:15.

[119:120]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from fear of you.” The pronominal suffix on the noun is an objective genitive.

[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.

[6:4]  ¹³ tn On the phrase אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים (’ammot hassippim, “pivots of the frames”) see HALOT 763 s.v. סַף.

[6:5]  ¹⁴ tn Isaiah uses the suffixed (perfect) form of the verb for rhetorical purposes. In this way his destruction is described as occurring or as already completed. Rather than understanding the verb as derived from דָּמַה (damah, “be destroyed”), some take it from a proposed homonymic root דמה, which would mean “be silent.” In this case, one might translate, “I must be silent.”

[6:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a man unclean of lips am I.” Isaiah is not qualified to praise the king. His lips (the instruments of praise) are “unclean” because he has been contaminated by sin.

[6:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”

[6:5]  ¹⁷ 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.

[10:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “did not remain in.”

[10:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “was changed upon me for ruin.”

[10:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “strength.”

[10:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “How is the servant of this my lord able to speak with this my lord?”

[10:17]  ²² tn Heb “does not stand.”

[1:17]  ²³ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:17]  ²⁴ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.