Revelation 1:15

1:15 His feet were like polished bronze ¹  refined ²  in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar ³  of many waters.

Revelation 9:2

9:2 He ⁴  opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it ⁵  like smoke from a giant furnace. The ⁶  sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft.

---

¹ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears nowhere else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 2:18), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 2:18 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

² tn Or “that has been heated in a furnace until it glows.”

³ tn Grk “sound,” but the idea is closer to the roar of a waterfall or rapids.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁵ tn Grk “the shaft,” but since this would be somewhat redundant in English, the pronoun “it” is used here.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.