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 40:5

40:5 The splendor ³  of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people ⁴  will see it at the same time.

For ⁵  the Lord has decreed it.” ⁶ 

Yesaya 60:1-3

Zion’s Future Splendor

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

The splendor ⁷  of the Lord shines on you!

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ⁸  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ⁹  appears over you.

60:3 Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

Yesaya 60:19

60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,

nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;

the Lord will be your permanent source of light –

the splendor of your God will shine upon you. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 66:18-19

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ¹¹  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ¹²  they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ¹³  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ¹⁴  Lud ¹⁵  (known for its archers ¹⁶ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹⁷  and to the distant coastlands ¹⁸  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.

Keluaran 33:18-19

33:18 And Moses ¹⁹  said, “Show me your glory.” ²⁰ 

33:19 And the Lord ²¹  said, “I will make all my goodness ²²  pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name ²³  before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” ²⁴ 

Mazmur 50:2

50:2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places, ²⁵ 

God comes in splendor. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 72:19

72:19 His glorious name deserves praise ²⁷  forevermore!

May his majestic splendor ²⁸  fill the whole earth!

We agree! We agree! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 97:6

97:6 The sky declares his justice,

and all the nations see his splendor.

Mazmur 102:15-16

102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, ³⁰ 

and all the kings of the earth will respect ³¹  his splendor,

102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,

and reveals his splendor,

Habakuk 2:14

2:14 For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth

just as the waters fill up the sea. ³² 

Yohanes 12:41

12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s ³³  glory, and spoke about him.

Yohanes 17:24

17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, ³⁴  so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world ³⁵ .

Yohanes 17:2

17:2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, ³⁶  so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. ³⁷ 

Kolose 3:18

Exhortation to Households

3:18 Wives, submit to your ³⁸  husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Kolose 4:6

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

Wahyu 21:23

21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb.

[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.

[40:5]  ³ tn Or “glory.” The Lord’s “glory” is his theophanic radiance and royal splendor (see Isa 6:3; 24:23; 35:2; 60:1; 66:18-19).

[40:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NAB, NIV “mankind”; TEV “the whole human race.”

[40:5]  ⁵ tn Or “indeed.”

[40:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[60:1]  ⁷ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[60:2]  ⁸ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ⁹ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”

[60:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your God for your splendor.”

[66:18]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

[66:19]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ¹⁵ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ¹⁷ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[33:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:18]  ²⁰ sn Moses now wanted to see the glory of Yahweh, more than what he had already seen and experienced. He wanted to see God in all his majesty. The LXX chose to translate this without a word for “glory” or “honor”; instead they used the pronoun seautou, “yourself” – show me the real You. God tells him that he cannot see it fully, but in part. It will be enough for Moses to disclose to him the reality of the divine presence as well as God’s moral nature. It would be impossible for Moses to comprehend all of the nature of God, for there is a boundary between God and man. But God would let him see his goodness, the sum of his nature, pass by in a flash. B. Jacob (Exodus, 972) says that the glory refers to God’s majesty, might, and glory, as manifested in nature, in his providence, his laws, and his judgments. He adds that this glory should and would be made visible to man – that was its purpose in the world.

[33:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:19]  ²² sn The word “goodness” refers to the divine appearance in summary fashion.

[33:19]  ²³ tn The expression “make proclamation in the name of Yahweh” (here a perfect tense with vav [ו] consecutive for future) means to declare, reveal, or otherwise make proclamation of who Yahweh is. The “name of Yahweh” (rendered “the name of the Lord” throughout) refers to his divine attributes revealed to his people, either in word or deed. What will be focused on first will be his grace and compassion.

[33:19]  ²⁴ sn God declares his mercy and grace in similar terms to his earlier self-revelation (“I am that I am”): “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” In other words, the grace and mercy of God are bound up in his own will. Obviously, in this passage the recipients of that favor are the penitent Israelites who were forgiven through Moses’ intercession. The two words are at the heart of God’s dealings with people. The first is חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious, show favor”). It means to grant favor or grace to someone, grace meaning unmerited favor. All of God’s dealings are gracious, but especially in forgiving sins and granting salvation it is critical. Parallel to this is רָחַם (rakham), a word that means “show compassion, tender mercy.” It is a word that is related to the noun “womb,” the connection being in providing care and protection for that which is helpless and dependent – a motherly quality. In both of these constructions the verbs simply express what God will do, without explaining why. See further, J. R. Lundbom, “God’s Use of the Idem per idem to Terminate Debate,” HTR 71 (1978): 193-201; and J. Piper, “Prolegomena to Understanding Romans 9:14-15: An Interpretation of Exodus 33:19,” JETS 22 (1979): 203-16.

[50:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the perfection of beauty.”

[50:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “shines forth.”

[50:2]  sn Comes in splendor. The psalmist may allude ironically to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.

[72:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “[be] blessed.”

[72:19]  ²⁸ tn Or “glory.”

[72:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response of agreement to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[102:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).

[102:15]  ³¹ tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[2:14]  ³² tn Heb “for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, just as the waters cover over the sea.”

[12:41]  ³³ 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.

[17:24]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the ones you have given me, I want these to be where I am with me.”

[17:24]  ³⁵ tn Grk “before the foundation of the world.”

[17:2]  ³⁶ tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”

[17:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”

[3:18]  ³⁸ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with ἀνδράσιν (andrasin, “husbands”) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (“your”); see ExSyn 215.