In 4 the middle of the throne 5 and around the throne were four living creatures 6 full of eyes in front and in back.
6:12 Then 7 I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge 8 earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, 9 and the full moon became blood red; 10
21:9 Then 15 one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, 16 saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!”
“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, 20
Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”
1 tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
2 tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.
3 tn This could refer to rock crystal, but it is possible this refers to ice (an older meaning). See BDAG 571 s.v. κρύσταλλος.
4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
5 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
6 tn On the meaning of ζῴον (zwon) BDAG 431 s.v. 2 states, “Of the four peculiar beings at God’s throne, whose description Rv 4:6-9 reminds one of the ζῷα in Ezk 1:5ff, the cherubim. S. also Rv 5:6, 8, 11, 14; 6:1, 3, 5-7; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4.”
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
8 tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”
9 tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).
10 tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.
12 tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).
13 tn Or “desert.”
14 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
16 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.
17 tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.
18 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.
19 tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”
20 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.”
sn A quotation from (or an allusion to) Isa 6:3.
21 tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
22 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
23 sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.
24 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
25 tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).
26 tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.