Revelation 5:10

5:10 You have appointed ¹  them ²  as a kingdom and priests ³  to serve ⁴  our God, and they will reign ⁵  on the earth.”

Revelation 9:10

9:10 They have ⁶  tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability ⁷  to injure people for five months is in their tails.

Revelation 9:21

9:21 Furthermore, ⁸  they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, ⁹  of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.

Revelation 17:13

17:13 These kings ¹⁰  have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

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¹ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

² tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

³ tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

⁴ tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

⁵ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.

⁶ tn In the Greek text there is a shift to the present tense here; the previous verbs translated “had” are imperfects.

⁷ tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”

⁸ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, with “furthermore” used to indicate a continuation of the preceding.

⁹ 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.”

¹⁰ tn The word “kings” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the referent.