2:18 “To 6 the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: 7
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 8 the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame 9 and whose feet are like polished bronze: 10
11:15 Then 25 the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
“The kingdom of the world
has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ, 26
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She 46 has become a lair for demons,
a haunt 47 for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. 48
“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom 49 has come!”
18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” 50
And every ship’s captain, 51 and all who sail along the coast 52 – seamen, and all who 53 make their living from the sea, stood a long way off
22:6 Then 59 the angel 60 said to me, “These words are reliable 61 and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants 62 what must happen soon.”
1 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.
2 tn Or “grant.”
3 tn Or “stands.”
4 tc The omission of “my” (μου, mou) after “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) is well attested, supported by א A C and the Andreas of Caesarea group of Byzantine
5 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
7 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
8 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.
9 tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
10 tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears no where else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 1:15), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 1:15 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
12 tn Grk “says” (a historical present).
13 tn The present imperative with μή (mh) is used here to command cessation of an action in progress (ExSyn 724 lists this verse as an example).
14 tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”
15 tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.
16 tn Grk “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.”
17 tn The aorist ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh) has been translated as a proleptic (futuristic) aorist (ExSyn 564 cites this verse as an example).
18 tn The time of the action described by the aorist εὐηγγέλισεν (euhngelisen) seems to be past with respect to the aorist passive ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh). This does not require that the prophets in view here be OT prophets. They may actually refer to the martyrs in the church (so G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 129).
19 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
21 tn On the term αὐλήν (aulhn) BDAG 150 s.v. αὐλή 1 states, “(outer) court of the temple…Rv 11:2.”
22 tn The precise meaning of the phrase ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν (ekbale exwqen) is difficult to determine.
23 tn Or “to the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
24 sn The holy city appears to be a reference to Jerusalem. See also Luke 21:24.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
26 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
27 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.
29 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
30 tn Grk “people, saying.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence. For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.
31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the bowl poured on the sun.
32 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.
33 tn On this phrase BDAG 536 s.v. καῦμα states, “burning, heat Rv 7:16…καυματίζεσθαι κ. μέγα be burned with a scorching heat 16:9.”
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
35 tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.
36 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
37 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
38 tn The singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used generically here to refer to the human race.
39 tn Grk “hearts.”
40 tn Or “his intent.”
41 tn The infinitive ποιῆσαι (poihsai) was translated here as giving the logical means by which God’s purpose was carried out.
42 tn On this term BDAG 203 s.v. γνώμη 4 states, “declaration, decision, resolution…of God Rv 17:17.”
43 tn For this translation see BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a, “kingship, royal power, royal rule.”
44 tn Or “completed.”
45 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style
46 tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.
47 tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”
48 tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some
49 tn Or “judgment,” condemnation,” “punishment.” BDAG 569 s.v. κρίσις 1.a.β states, “The word oft. means judgment that goes against a person, condemnation, and the sentence that follows…ἡ κ. σου your judgment Rv 18:10.”
50 tn On ἠρημώθη (hrhmwqh) 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.”
51 tn On κυβερνήτης (kubernhth") BDAG 574 s.v. 1 states, “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster, lit. Rv 18:17.”
52 tn Or perhaps, “everyone who sails as a passenger.” On πλέων (plewn) BDAG 825 s.v. πλέω states, “πᾶς ὁ ἐπὶ τόπον πλέων everyone who sails to a place = seafarer, sea traveler…Rv 18:17. The vv.ll.…have led to various interpretations. Some render: everyone who sails along the coast…See EbNestle, Einführung in das Griech. NT 1909, 182; AFridrichsen, K. Hum. Vetensk.-Samf. i Upps. Årsb. ’43, 31 note ὁ ἐπίτοπον πλέων=one who sails occasionally, a passenger. – S. also IHeikel, StKr 106, ’34/’35, 317).”
53 tn Grk “and as many as.”
54 tn Grk “jasper, having.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.
55 tn Grk “a (city) wall great and high.”
56 tn On this term BDAG 897 s.v. πυλών 1 states, “gate, esp. of the large, impressive gateways at the entrance of temples and palaces…of the entrances of the heavenly Jerusalem…οἱ πυλῶνες αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ κλεισθῶσιν its entrances shall never be shut Rv 21:25; cp. vss. 12ab, 13abcd, 15, 21ab; 22:14.”
57 tn Grk “of the sons of Israel.” The translation “nation of Israel” is given in L&N 11.58.
58 tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the gates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
60 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15; 22:1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61 tn Grk “faithful.”
62 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.