3:1 “To 10 the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: 11
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 12 the one who holds 13 the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation 14 that you are alive, but 15 in reality 16 you are dead.
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 22
and at the cost of your own blood 23 you have purchased 24 for God
persons 25 from every tribe, language, 26 people, and nation.
18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you 27 again.
No 28 craftsman 29 who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill 30 will never be heard in you again.
1 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.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.
3 tn The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (kratei") has been translated as a progressive present.
4 tn Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
5 tn Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, thn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.
6 tn Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”
7 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.
8 sn That is, the teaching of Jezebel (v. 20).
9 tn Grk “deep things.” For the translation “deep secrets” see L&N 28.76; cf. NAB, NIV, CEV.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
11 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
12 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.
13 tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).
14 tn Grk “a name.”
15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
16 tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.
17 tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”
18 tn Grk “rich, and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, repeating the words “Buy from me” to make the connection clear for the English reader.
19 tn Grk “the shame of the nakedness of you,” which has been translated as an attributed genitive like καινότητι ζωῆς (kainothti zwh") in Rom 6:4 (ExSyn 89-90).
20 sn The city of Laodicea had a famous medical school and exported a powder (called a “Phrygian powder”) that was widely used as an eye salve. It was applied to the eyes in the form of a paste the consistency of dough (the Greek term for the salve here, κολλούριον, kollourion [Latin collyrium], is a diminutive form of the word for a long roll of bread).
21 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
22 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
23 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).”
24 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
25 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.
26 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.
27 tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.
28 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
29 tn On this term BDAG 1001 s.v. τεχνίτης states, “craftsperson, artisan, designer…Of a silversmith Ac 19:24, 25 v.l., 38….Of a potter 2 Cl 8:2 (metaph., cp. Ath. 15:2). πᾶς τεχνίτης πάσης τέχνης Rv 18:22.”
30 tn This is a different Greek word (μύλος, mulos) from the one for the millstone in v. 21 (μύλινος, mulinos). See L&N 7.68.