Revelation 13:7

13:7 The beast ¹  was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. ²  He was given ruling authority ³  over every tribe, people, ⁴  language, and nation,

Revelation 11:9

11:9 For three and a half days those from every ⁵  people, tribe, ⁶  nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb. ⁷ 

Revelation 14:6

Three Angels and Three Messages

14:6 Then ⁸  I saw another ⁹  angel flying directly overhead, ¹⁰  and he had ¹¹  an eternal gospel to proclaim ¹²  to those who live ¹³  on the earth – to every nation, tribe, ¹⁴  language, and people.

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ¹⁵ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ¹⁶ 

and at the cost of your own blood ¹⁷  you have purchased ¹⁸  for God

persons ¹⁹  from every tribe, language, ²⁰  people, and nation.

Revelation 7:9

7:9 After these things I looked, and here was ²¹  an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, ²²  people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.

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¹ tn Grk “and it was given to him to go to war.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tc Many mss omit the phrase “it was given to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Ì⁴⁷ A C 2053 Ï^A sa). It is, however, found in Ì^115vid א 051 1006 (1611) 1841 (1854) 2329 2344 2351 (Ï^K) lat sy^ph,(h) bo. Although the ms evidence is somewhat in favor of the shorter reading, the support of ̹¹⁵ (a recently-discovered ms) for the longer reading balances things out. Normally, the shorter reading should be given preference. However, in an instance in which homoioteleuton could play a role, caution must be exercised. In this passage, accidental omission is quite likely. That this could have happened seems apparent from the two occurrences of the identical phrase “and it was given to him” (καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ, kai edoqh autw) in v. 7. The scribe’s eye skipped over the first καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ and went to the second, hence creating an accidental omission of eleven words.

³ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

⁴ tn Grk “and people,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

⁵ tn The word “every” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the following list.

⁶ tn The Greek term καί (kai) has not been translated before this and the following items in the list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

⁷ tn Or “to be buried.”

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

⁹ tc Most mss (Ì47 א* Ï sa) lack ἄλλον (allon, “another”) here, but the support for it is stronger (Ì^115vid א² A C P 051 1006 1611 1841 2053 2329 al latt sy bo). The problem that its inclusion represents is that there is no reference to any other angel in the immediate context (the last mention was in 11:15). In this instance, the longer reading is harder. The word was probably intentionally omitted in order to resolve the tension; less likely, it might have been accidentally omitted since its spelling is similar to “angel” (ἄγγελος, angelos).

¹⁰ tn L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’”

¹¹ tn Grk “having.”

¹² tn Or “an eternal gospel to announce as good news.”

¹³ tn Grk “to those seated on the earth.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “and tribe,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

¹⁵ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

¹⁶ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

¹⁷ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

¹⁸ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

¹⁹ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

²⁰ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

²¹ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

²² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.