Translation
and saying with a loud voice, “Fear GOD
and give Him glory,
for the hour of His judgment has come; worship the one who made the heavens
and the earth
and the sea
and the springs of water.”
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
and saying with a loud voice,
“Fear THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS and give him glory,
for the hour of His judgment has come; worship the one who made those things that are unreachable and unfathomable to man, the places familiar to man,
and the places man fears to go,
and the sources of all things.”
Footnotes
1
Why are the springs of water mentioned along with things like the heavens and the earth and the seas? We must remember that water was very key in the creation of the world. For the ancient Israelites, water often represented an abundance of the item in view. It was also a symbol of life; its use along with the word “springs” implies the sustaining of life. Here “water” would mean an abundance of everything that has been created, especially living things, since springs of water sustained life. A Jew of John’s time would also have thought of the world-wide flood and how the fountains (springs) of the great deep opened up. God is sovereign over all living things and He will receive glory through them, whether man is obedient or rebellious. The connection between the “springs of water” and the command to “fear God and give Him glory” would have been obvious to the Jews of that day because of what happened in the world-wide flood.