Mazmur 99:3

99:3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!

He ¹  is holy!

Yesaya 6:3

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

Wahyu 4:8

4:8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings ⁴  and was full of eyes all around and inside. ⁵  They never rest day or night, saying: ⁶ 

“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, ⁷ 

Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”

[99:3]  ¹ tn The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).

[6:3]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[4:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.

[4:8]  ⁵ tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (eswqen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.

[4:8]  ⁶ tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”

[4:8]  ⁷ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[4:8]  sn A quotation from (or an allusion to) Isa 6:3.