3:7 “To 1 the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: 2
“This is the solemn pronouncement of 3 the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors 4 no one can shut, and shuts doors 5 no one can open:
4:1 After these things I looked, and there was 6 a door standing open in heaven! 7 And the first voice I had heard speaking to me 8 like a trumpet 9 said: “Come up here so that 10 I can show you what must happen after these things.”
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 12
and at the cost of your own blood 13 you have purchased 14 for God
persons 15 from every tribe, language, 16 people, and nation.
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 The word “door” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied in the translation. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. Since the following verse does contain the word “door” (θύραν, quran), that word has been supplied as the direct object here.
5 tn See the note on the word “door” earlier in this verse.
6 tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
7 tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
8 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”
9 sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.
10 tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.
11 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
12 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
13 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).”
14 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
15 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.
16 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.