Yesaya 6:1-3

Isaiah’s Commission

6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, ¹  I saw the sovereign master ²  seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs ³  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ⁴  and they used the remaining two to fly. 6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ⁵  is the Lord who commands armies! ⁶  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

Yehezkiel 1:26-28

1:26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 1:27 I saw an amber glow ⁷  like a fire enclosed all around ⁸  from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 1:28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. ⁹  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ¹⁰  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Yehezkiel 10:4

10:4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory.

Yehezkiel 10:18

10:18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.

Yehezkiel 11:23

11:23 The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stopped ¹¹  over the mountain east of it.

Yohanes 12:41

12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s ¹²  glory, and spoke about him.

Yohanes 12:2

12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus ¹³  there. Martha ¹⁴  was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table ¹⁵  with him.

Kolose 4:6

4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Kolose 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Pengkhotbah 1:17

1:17 So I decided ¹⁶  to discern the benefit of ¹⁷  wisdom and knowledge over ¹⁸  foolish behavior and ideas; ¹⁹ 

however, I concluded ²⁰  that even ²¹  this endeavor ²²  is like ²³  trying to chase the wind! ²⁴ 

Wahyu 21:11

21:11 The city possesses ²⁵  the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. ²⁶ 

[6:1]  ¹ sn That is, approximately 740 b.c.

[6:1]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[6:2]  ³ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ⁴ sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[6:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[1:27]  ⁷ tn See Ezek 1:4.

[1:27]  ⁸ tc The LXX lacks this phrase. Its absence from the LXX may be explained as a case of haplography resulting from homoioteleuton, skipping from כְּמַרְאֵה (kÿmar’eh) to מִמַּרְאֵה (mimmar’eh). On the other hand, the LXX presents a much more balanced verse structure when it is recognized that the final words of this verse belong in the next sentence.

[1:28]  ⁹ sn Reference to the glowing substance and the brilliant light and storm phenomena in vv. 27-28a echoes in reverse order the occurrence of these phenomena in v. 4.

[1:28]  ¹⁰ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[11:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stood.”

[12:41]  ¹² tn Grk “his”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent supplied here is “Christ” rather than “Jesus” because it involves what Isaiah saw. It is clear that the author presents Isaiah as having seen the preincarnate glory of Christ, which was the very revelation of the Father (see John 1:18; John 14:9).

[12:41]  sn Because he saw Christ’s glory. The glory which Isaiah saw in Isa 6:3 was the glory of Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). Here John speaks of the prophet seeing the glory of Christ since in the next clause and spoke about him, “him” can hardly refer to Yahweh, but must refer to Christ. On the basis of statements like 1:14 in the prologue, the author probably put no great distinction between the two. Since the author presents Jesus as fully God (cf. John 1:1), it presents no problem to him to take words originally spoken by Isaiah of Yahweh himself and apply them to Jesus.

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.

[12:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.

[12:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “reclining at the table.”

[12:2]  sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[1:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “gave my heart,” or “set my mind.” See v. 13.

[1:17]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “the benefit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁸ tn The word “over” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁹ tn The terms שִׂכְלוּת (sikhlut, “folly”) and הוֹלֵלוֹת (holelot, “foolishness”) are synonyms. The term שִׂכְלוּת (alternate spelling of סִכְלוּת, sikhlut) refers to foolish behavior (HALOT 755 s.v. סִכְלוּת), while הוֹלֵלוֹת refers to foolish ideas and mental blindness (HALOT 242 s.v. הוֹלֵלוֹת). Qoheleth uses these terms to refer to foolish ideas and self-indulgent pleasures (e.g., Eccl 2:2-3, 12-14; 7:25; 9:3; 10:1, 6, 13).

[1:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I know.”

[1:17]  ²¹ tn The term גַּם (gam, “even”) is a particle of association and emphasis (HALOT 195 s.v. גַּם).

[1:17]  ²² tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ²³ tn This term does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “striving of wind.”

[21:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “from God, having the glory of God.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “the city” to refer back to the previous clause and translating the participle (“having”) as a finite verb.

[21:11]  ²⁶ tn On the term ἰάσπιδι (iaspidi) BDAG 465 s.v. ἴασπις states, “jasper, a precious stone found in various colors, mostly reddish, somet. green…brown, blue, yellow, and white. In antiquity the name was not limited to the variety of quartz now called jasper, but could designate any opaque precious stone. Rv 21:18f. W. λίθος 4:3 (TestSol C 11:8). λίθος ἴασπις κρυσταλλίζων a stone of crystal-clear jasper 21:11 (cp. Is 54:12); perh. the opal is meant here; acc. to some, the diamond.”