3:1 “To 1 the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: 2
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 3 the one who holds 4 the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation 5 that you are alive, but 6 in reality 7 you are dead.
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 15
and at the cost of your own blood 16 you have purchased 17 for God
persons 18 from every tribe, language, 19 people, and nation.
19:18 to eat 40 your fill 41 of the flesh of kings,
the flesh of generals, 42
the flesh of powerful people,
the flesh of horses and those who ride them,
and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, 43
and small and great!”
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
3 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.
4 tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).
5 tn Grk “a name.”
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7 tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.
8 tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).
9 sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.
11 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.
12 tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.
13 tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”
14 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
15 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
16 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).”
17 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
18 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.
19 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.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
21 tn Grk “Send out.”
22 tn The aorist θέρισον (qerison) has been translated ingressively.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
24 tn Grk “who had authority over.” This appears to be the angel who tended the fire on the altar.
25 tn Grk “to the one having the sharp sickle”; the referent (the angel in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Grk “Send.”
27 tn On this term BDAG 1018 s.v. τρυγάω states: “‘gather in’ ripe fruit, esp. harvest (grapes) w. acc. of the fruit (POslo. 21, 13 [71 ad]; Jos., Ant. 4, 227) Lk 6:44; Rv 14:18 (in imagery, as in the foll. places)…W. acc. of that which bears the fruit gather the fruit of the vine…or the vineyard (s. ἄμπελος a) Rv 14:19.”
28 tn On this term BDAG 181 s.v. βότρυς states, “bunch of grapes Rv 14:18…The word is also found in the Phrygian Papias of Hierapolis, in a passage in which he speaks of the enormous size of the grapes in the new aeon (in the Lat. transl. in Irenaeus 5, 33, 2f.): dena millia botruum Papias (1:2). On this see Stephan. Byz. s.v. Εὐκαρπία: Metrophanes says that in the district of Εὐκαρπία in Phrygia Minor the grapes were said to be so large that one bunch of them caused a wagon to break down in the middle.”
29 tn The genitive τῆς γῆς (ths ghs), taken symbolically, could be considered a genitive of apposition.
30 tn Or perhaps, “its bunches of grapes” (a different Greek word from the previous clause). L&N 3.38 states, “the fruit of grapevines (see 3.27) – ‘grape, bunch of grapes.’ τρύγησον τοὺς βότρυας τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἤκμασαν αἱ σταφυλαὶ αὐτῆς ‘cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth because its grapes are ripe’ Re 14:18. Some scholars have contended that βότρυς means primarily a bunch of grapes, while σταφυλή designates individual grapes. In Re 14:18 this difference might seem plausible, but there is scarcely any evidence for such a distinction, since both words may signify grapes as well as bunches of grapes.”
31 tn On the use of ἥκμασαν (hkmasan) BDAG 36 s.v. ἀκμάζω states, “to bloom…of grapes…Rv 14:18.”
32 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s announcement.
33 tn Grk “I fell down at his feet.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
35 tn On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή (Jora mh) BDAG 720 s.v. ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically…ὅρα μή (sc. ποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”
36 tn The lowliness of a slave is emphasized in the Greek text with the emphatic position of σύνδουλος (sundoulo"). The use of “only” helps to bring this nuance out in English.
37 tn Grk “fellow slave.” See the note on the word “servants” in v. 2.
38 tn The Greek term “brother” literally refers to family relationships, but here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).
39 tn The genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) has been translated as an objective genitive here. A subjective genitive, also possible, would produce the meaning “who hold to what Jesus testifies.”
40 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.
41 tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.
42 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).
43 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.