“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful! 19
Just 20 and true are your ways,
King over the nations! 21
1 tn Grk “from where,” but status is in view rather than physical position. On this term BDAG 838 s.v. πόθεν 1 states, “from what place? from where?…In imagery μνημόνευε πόθεν πέπτωκες remember from what (state) you have fallen Rv 2:5.”
2 tn Grk “and do” (a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text). For stylistic reasons in English a new sentence was started here in the translation. The repeated mention of repenting at the end of the verse suggests that the intervening material (“do the deeds you did at first”) specifies how the repentance is to be demonstrated.
3 tn Or “you did formerly.”
4 tn Although the final clause is somewhat awkward, it is typical of the style of Revelation.
5 tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.
6 tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).
7 tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”
8 sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.
9 tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”
10 tn Grk “I have given.”
11 tn Grk “to shut it,” but English would leave the direct object understood in this case.
sn The entire statement is parenthetical, interrupting the construction found in other letters to the churches in 3:1 and 3:15, “I know your deeds, that…” where an enumeration of the deeds follows.
12 tn This translation is based on connecting the ὅτι (Joti) clause with the οἶδα (oida) at the beginning of the verse, giving the content of what is known (see also 3:1, 3:15 for parallels). Because of the intervening clause that is virtually parenthetical (see the note on the word “shut” earlier in this verse), the words “I know that” from the beginning of the verse had to be repeated to make this connection clear for the English reader. However, the ὅτι could be understood as introducing a causal subordinate clause instead and thus translated, “because you have.”
13 tn Or “little power.”
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
15 tn Grk “and having kept.” The participle ἐτήρησας (ethrhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the translation of τηρέω (threw) as “obey” see L&N 36.19. This is the same word that is used in 3:10 (there translated “kept”) where there is a play on words.
16 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
17 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
18 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
19 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.”
20 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
21 tc Certain
22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23 sn Here Death is personified (cf. 1 Cor 15:55).