5:6 Then 3 I saw standing in the middle of the throne 4 and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. 5 He had 6 seven horns and seven eyes, which 7 are the seven 8 spirits of God 9 sent out into all the earth.
5:13 Then 10 I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: 11
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power 12 forever and ever!”
8:7 The 18 first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that 19 a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
12:12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!
But 20 woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
He 21 is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time!”
18:3 For all the nations 25 have fallen 26 from
the wine of her immoral passion, 27
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.” 28
“Woe, Woe, O great city –
in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth –
because in a single hour she has been destroyed!” 30
18:23 Even the light from a lamp
will never shine in you again!
The voices of the bridegroom and his bride
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,
because all the nations 31 were deceived by your magic spells! 32
19:18 to eat 33 your fill 34 of the flesh of kings,
the flesh of generals, 35
the flesh of powerful people,
the flesh of horses and those who ride them,
and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, 36
and small and great!”
1 sn That is, the teaching of Jezebel (v. 20).
2 tn Grk “deep things.” For the translation “deep secrets” see L&N 28.76; cf. NAB, NIV, CEV.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
4 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
5 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.
6 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.”
7 sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.
8 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.
9 sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
11 tn Grk “saying.”
12 tn Or “dominion.”
13 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
14 tn Grk “having.”
15 sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.
16 tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.
17 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” because what follows has the logical force of a result clause.
20 tn The word “But” is not in the Greek text, but the contrast is clearly implied. This is a case of asyndeton (lack of a connective).
21 tn Grk “and is filled,” a continuation of the previous sentence. Because English tends to use shorter sentences (especially when exclamations are involved), a new sentence was started here in the translation.
22 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.”
23 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
24 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).
25 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
26 tc ‡ Several
27 tn See the notes on the words “passion” in Rev 14:8 and “wrath” in 16:19.
28 tn According to BDAG 949 s.v. στρῆνος and στρηνιάω, these terms can refer either to luxury or sensuality. In the context of Rev 18, however (as L&N 88.254 indicate) the stress is on gratification of the senses by sexual immorality, so that meaning was emphasized in the translation here.
29 tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
30 tn On ἡρημώθη (Jhrhmwqh) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned – ‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”
31 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
32 tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”
33 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.
34 tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.
35 tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).
36 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
37 tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”
38 tn Grk “idolaters.”
39 tn Grk “their share.”
40 tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”
41 tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”