3:1 “To 14 the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: 15
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 16 the one who holds 17 the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation 18 that you are alive, but 19 in reality 20 you are dead.
5:6 Then 27 I saw standing in the middle of the throne 28 and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. 29 He had 30 seven horns and seven eyes, which 31 are the seven 32 spirits of God 33 sent out into all the earth.
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 35
and at the cost of your own blood 36 you have purchased 37 for God
persons 38 from every tribe, language, 39 people, and nation.
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority 41 of his Christ, 42 have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, 43
the one who accuses them day and night 44 before our God,
has been thrown down.
1 tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.
2 tn Or “tempted.”
3 tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).
4 tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”
5 tc The shorter reading adopted here has superior ms support (א A C P 2053 al latt co), while the inclusion of “your works and” (τὰ ἔργα σου καί, ta erga sou kai) before “where you reside” is supported by the Byzantine witnesses and is evidently a secondary attempt to harmonize the passage with 2:2, 19; 3:1, 8, 15.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.
7 tn The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (kratei") has been translated as a progressive present.
8 tn Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
9 tn Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, thn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.
10 tn Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”
11 tn Grk “killed among you.” The term “city” does not occur in the Greek text of course, but the expression παρ᾿ ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ (par’ Jumin, {opou Jo satana" katoikei) seems to indicate that this is what is meant. See G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 36-38.
12 sn That is, the teaching of Jezebel (v. 20).
13 tn Grk “deep things.” For the translation “deep secrets” see L&N 28.76; cf. NAB, NIV, CEV.
14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
15 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
16 tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.
sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.
17 tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).
18 tn Grk “a name.”
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
20 tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.
21 tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).
22 sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.
24 tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.
25 tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.
26 tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”
27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
28 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
29 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.” The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. This phrase does not imply that the Lamb “appeared to have been killed” but in reality was not, because the wider context of the NT shows that in fact the Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed. See 13:3 for the only other occurrence of this phrase in the NT.
30 tn Grk “killed, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
31 sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.
32 tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; Ì24 א 2053 2351 ÏK). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 ÏA pc). It may have been accidentally added due to its repeated presence in the immediately preceding phrases, or it may have been intentionally added to maintain the symmetry of the phrases or more likely to harmonize the phrase with 1:4; 3:1; 4:5. Or it may have been accidentally deleted by way of homoioteleuton (τὰ ἑπτά, ta Jepta). A decision is difficult in this instance. NA27 also does not find the problem easy to solve, placing the word in brackets to indicate doubts as to its authenticity.
33 sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.
34 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
35 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
36 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).”
37 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
38 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.
39 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.
40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
41 tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.
42 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
43 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.
44 tn Or “who accuses them continually.”
45 tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”
46 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
47 tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).