“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, 13
Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”
8:12 Then 14 the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day 15 and for a third of the night likewise.
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority 17 of his Christ, 18 have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, 19
the one who accuses them day and night 20 before our God,
has been thrown down.
1 tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).
2 tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).
3 tn The Greek pronoun is plural here even though the verbs in the previous verse are singular.
4 tn The present tense ἀναβαίνει (anabainei) has been translated as a futuristic present (ExSyn 535-36). This is also consistent with the future passive βασανισθήσεται (basanisqhsetai) in v. 10.
5 tn The present tense ἔχουσιν (ecousin) has been translated as a futuristic present to keep the English tense consistent with the previous verb (see note on “will go up” earlier in this verse).
6 tn Grk “and.”
7 tn Or “misled.”
8 tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”
9 tn The verb in this clause is elided. In keeping with the previous past tenses some translations supply a past tense verb here (“were”), but in view of the future tense that follows (“they will be tormented”), a present tense verb was used to provide a transition from the previous past tense to the future tense that follows.
10 tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.
11 tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (eswqen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.
12 tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”
13 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.”
sn A quotation from (or an allusion to) Isa 6:3.
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
15 tn Grk “the day did not shine [with respect to] the third of it.”
16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
17 tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.
18 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
19 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.
20 tn Or “who accuses them continually.”