Revelation 3:8

3:8 ‘I know your deeds. (Look! I have put ¹  in front of you an open door that no one can shut.) ²  I know ³  that you have little strength, ⁴  but ⁵  you have obeyed ⁶  my word and have not denied my name.

Revelation 5:5

5:5 Then ⁷  one of the elders said ⁸  to me, “Stop weeping! ⁹  Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; ¹⁰  thus he can open ¹¹  the scroll and its seven seals.”

Revelation 19:15

19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ¹²  He ¹³  will rule ¹⁴  them with an iron rod, ¹⁵  and he stomps the winepress ¹⁶  of the furious ¹⁷  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ¹⁸ 

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¹ tn Grk “I have given.”

² 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.

³ 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.”

⁴ tn Or “little power.”

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

⁸ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

⁹ 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).

¹⁰ tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”

¹¹ tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.

¹² tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁴ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

¹⁵ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

sn A quotation from Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27, 12:5).

¹⁶ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

¹⁷ tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

¹⁸ 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.”