Imamat 10:3

10:3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke: ‘Among the ones close to me I will show myself holy, ¹  and in the presence of all the people I will be honored.’” ²  So Aaron kept silent.

Imamat 19:2

19:2 “Speak to the whole congregation of the Israelites and tell them, ‘You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Imamat 19:1

Religious and Social Regulations

19:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

1 Samuel 6:20

6:20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark ³  go up from here?”

Mazmur 99:5

99:5 Praise ⁴  the Lord our God!

Worship ⁵  before his footstool!

He is holy!

Mazmur 99:9

99:9 Praise ⁶  the Lord our God!

Worship on his holy hill,

for the Lord our God is holy!

Yesaya 5:16

5:16 The Lord who commands armies will be exalted ⁷  when he punishes, ⁸ 

the sovereign God’s authority will be recognized when he judges. ⁹ 

Yesaya 6:3-5

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹⁰  is the Lord who commands armies! ¹¹  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, ¹²  and the temple was filled with smoke.

6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, ¹³  for my lips are contaminated by sin, ¹⁴  and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. ¹⁵  My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 30:11

30:11 Turn aside from the way,

stray off the path. ¹⁷ 

Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 30:15

30:15 For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says:

“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; ¹⁹ 

if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, ²⁰ 

but you are unwilling.

Habakuk 1:13

1:13 You are too just ²¹  to tolerate ²²  evil;

you are unable to condone ²³  wrongdoing.

So why do you put up with such treacherous people? ²⁴ 

Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour ²⁵  those more righteous than they are? ²⁶ 

[10:3]  ¹ tn The Niphal verb of the Hebrew root קָדַשׁ (qadash) can mean either “to be treated as holy” (so here, e.g., BDB 873 s.v. קָּדַשׁ, LXX, NASB, and NEB) or “to show oneself holy” (so here, e.g., HALOT 1073 s.v. קדשׁnif.1, NIV, NRSV, NLT; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:595, 601-3; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 133-34). The latter rendering seems more likely here since, in the immediate context, the Lord himself had indeed shown himself to be holy by the way he responded to the illegitimate incense offering of Nadab and Abihu. They had not treated the Lord as holy, so the Lord acted on his own behalf to show that he was indeed holy.

[10:3]  ² tn In this context the Niphal of the Hebrew root כָּבֵד (kaved) can mean “to be honored” (e.g., NASB and NIV here), “be glorified” (ASV, NRSV and NLT here), or “glorify oneself, show one’s glory” (cf. NAB; e.g., specifically in this verse HALOT 455 s.v. כבדnif.3; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:595, 603-4; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 126, 134). Comparing this clause with the previous one (see the note above), the point may be that when the Lord shows himself to be holy as he has done in 10:1-2, this results in him being honored (i.e., reverenced, feared, treated with respect) among the people. This suggests the passive rendering. It is possible, however, that one should use the reflexive rendering here as in the previous clause. If so, the passage means that the Lord showed both his holiness and his glory in one outbreak against Nadab and Abihu.

[6:20]  ³ tn Heb “he” or “it”; the referent here (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. also NIV, CEV, NLT). Others, however, take the referent to be the Lord himself.

[99:5]  ⁴ tn Or “exalt.”

[99:5]  ⁵ tn Or “bow down.”

[99:9]  ⁶ tn Or “exalt.”

[5:16]  ⁷ tn Or “elevated”; TEV “the Lord Almighty shows his greatness.”

[5:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “by judgment/justice.” When God justly punishes the evildoers denounced in the preceding verses, he will be recognized as a mighty warrior.

[5:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “The holy God will be set apart by fairness.” In this context God’s holiness is his sovereign royal authority, which implies a commitment to justice (see the note on the phrase “the sovereign king of Israel” in 1:4). When God judges evildoers as they deserve, his sovereignty will be acknowledged.

[5:16]  sn The appearance of מִשְׁפָט (mishpat, “justice”) and צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”) here is rhetorically significant, when one recalls v. 7. There God denounces his people for failing to produce a society where “justice” and “fairness” are valued and maintained. God will judge his people for their failure, taking “justice” and “fairness” into his own hands.

[6:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn On the phrase אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים (’ammot hassippim, “pivots of the frames”) see HALOT 763 s.v. סַף.

[6:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”

[6:5]  ¹⁶ 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.

[30:11]  ¹⁷ sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.

[30:11]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[30:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in returning and in quietness you will be delivered.” Many English versions render the last phrase “shall be saved” or something similar (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[30:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (NASB and NRSV both similar).

[1:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.

[1:13]  ²² tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”

[1:13]  ²³ tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”

[1:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.

[1:13]  ²⁵ tn Or “swallow up.”

[1:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”