4:1 After these things I looked, and there was 1 a door standing open in heaven! 2 And the first voice I had heard speaking to me 3 like a trumpet 4 said: “Come up here so that 5 I can show you what must happen after these things.”
5:13 Then 6 I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: 7
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power 8 forever and ever!”
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority 19 of his Christ, 20 have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, 21
the one who accuses them day and night 22 before our God,
has been thrown down.
14:13 Then 23 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:
‘Blessed are the dead,
those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, 24 because their deeds will follow them.” 25
18:23 Even the light from a lamp
will never shine in you again!
The voices of the bridegroom and his bride
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,
because all the nations 26 were deceived by your magic spells! 27
1 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).
2 tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
3 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.”
4 sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.
5 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.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
7 tn Grk “saying.”
8 tn Or “dominion.”
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
10 tn BDAG 1086 s.v. χοῖνιξ states, “a dry measure, oft. used for grain, approximately equivalent to one quart or one liter, quart. A χ.of grain was a daily ration for one pers.…Rv 6:6ab.”
11 tn Grk “a quart of wheat for a denarius.” A denarius was one day’s pay for an average worker. The words “will cost” are used to indicate the genitive of price or value; otherwise the English reader could understand the phrase to mean “a quart of wheat to be given as a day’s pay.”
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
14 tn Grk “one eagle.”
15 tc ÏA reads “angel” (ἀγγέλου, angelou) instead of “eagle” (ἀετοῦ, aetou), a reading strongly supported by {א A 046 ÏK and several versions}. On external grounds, ἀετοῦ is clearly the superior reading. ἀγγέλου could have arisen inadvertently due to similarities in spelling or sound between ἀετοῦ and ἀγγέλου. It may also have been intentional in order to bring this statement in line with 14:6 where an angel is mentioned as the one flying in midair. This seems a more likely reason, strengthened by the facts that the book only mentions eagles two other times (4:7; 12:14). Further, the immediate as well as broad context is replete with references to angels.
16 tn Concerning the word μεσουράνημα (mesouranhma), L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’ εἶδον, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἁετοῦ πετομένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι ‘I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying overhead in the sky’ Re 8:13.”
17 tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
19 tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.
20 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
21 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.
22 tn Or “who accuses them continually.”
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
24 tn Or “from their trouble” (L&N 22.7).
25 tn Grk “their deeds will follow with them.”
26 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
27 tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”