15:4a–b
Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that all people will fear God and glorify his name. Translate these words so that the meaning is emphasized. Some ways to do that are:
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name? (God’s Word)
• Use a statement. For example:
Lord, all will fear you and bring glory to your name!
-or-
Everyone will respect you, Lord, and will honor you. (New Century Version)
This question has two parts. In some languages it is more natural to translate them as two sentences. For example:
Who will not stand in awe of you, Lord? Who will refuse to declare your greatness? (Good News Translation)
-or-
O Lord, who will not fear you? Who will not bring glory to your name?
fear: Here the word fear means “respect” or “revere.” People who fear God are humble before God and are in awe of him. They also realize he is all-powerful and does as he chooses. So they respect him.
In some languages the word fear only means “be afraid of.” If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Include the meaning of “respect” or “revere.” For example:
fear ⌊and respect/revere⌋
• Translate the meaning of fear as “respect” or “revere.” For example:
honor
See how you translated this word in 14:7.
O Lord: The Greek word is literally “Lord.” The Berean Standard Bible and other English versions add the word O. In English it probably indicates a formal address, as speaking to someone of high status. Some English versions do not add this word. The context clearly indicates that God has high status. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:
Lord
In some languages it is more natural to have the direct address first. For example:
Lord, who will not fear you, and bring glory to your name?
Lord: The word Lord refers to God here. In some languages it is more natural to include “God” in this phrase. For example:
Lord ⌊God⌋
glorify Your name: This phrase refers to honoring God. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
declare your greatness (Good News Translation)
-or-
acknowledge your glory
-or-
do homage to your name (Revised English Bible)
See how you translated a similar phrase “give glory” in 4:9 or 14:7.
15:4c
For: This conjunction introduces the reason for people to fear and glorify God. For example:
because (NET Bible)
You alone: Here the word alone means “only.” God is the only one who is holy. For example:
You are the only holy one (God’s Word)
holy: Here the word holy indicates that God is perfect and unique. He only does what is right. He is different from all other beings. Other ways to translate this word are:
sacred/divine
-or-
pure/perfect ⌊spiritually/morally⌋
-or-
unique/separate
See how you translated this word in 3:7.
15:4d
In Greek 15:4d begins with the same conjunction as in 15:4c. It introduces a second reason here. The New Jerusalem Bible uses “and” to connect 15:4d with 15:4c under a single “For”:
4c
For you alone are holy, 4d and all the nations will come and adore you
worship before You: This phrase indicates that the people will worship God in his presence.
worship: This word refers to honoring someone or something as sacred/divine. Other ways to translate this word are:
venerate
-or-
revere
See how you translated this word in 13:4 or 14:7.
15:4e
for: This conjunction introduces a third reason here. If you used “and” to introduce the clause in 15:4d, you may want to do the same here.
Your righteous acts have been revealed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as righteous acts has several meanings. There are two ways to interpret it here:
(1) It means right/just deeds. For example:
your righteous deeds have been revealed (New Living Translation (2004))
(2) It means right/just judgments. For example:
they know about your fair judgments (God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
This clause indicates that all people had seen God’s righteous deeds. This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. God revealed what he had done. For example:
you have shown your righteous deeds
-or-
you have revealed ⌊to them⌋ your right/just deeds
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