14:1 Then 5 I looked, and here was 6 the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.
2 tn Grk “who were sealed.”
3 tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.
4 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
6 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
8 sn The winepress was stomped. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process).
9 tn L&N 6.7 states, “In Re 14:20 the reference to a bit and bridle is merely an indication of measurement, that is to say, the height of the bit and bridle from the ground, and one may reinterpret this measurement as ‘about a meter and a half’ or ‘about five feet.’”
10 tn Grk “1,600 stades.” A stade was a measure of length about 607 ft (185 m). Thus the distance here would be 184 mi or 296 km.
11 tn Here BDAG 988 s.v. ταλαντιαῖος states, “weighing a talent…χάλαζα μεγάλη ὡς ταλαντιαία a severe hailstorm with hailstones weighing a talent (the talent=125 librae, or Roman pounds of c. 343 gr. or 12 ounces each) (weighing about a hundred pounds NRSV) Rv 16:21.” This means each hailstone would weigh just under 100 pounds or 40 kilograms.
12 tn Or “the sky.” Due to the apocalyptic nature of this book, it is probably best to leave the translation as “from heaven,” since God is ultimately the source of the judgment.
13 tn Grk “on men,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense to refer to people in general (the hailstones did not single out adult males, but would have also fallen on women and children).
14 tn Grk “the men”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun “they” is used here.
15 tn Grk “the plague of it.”
16 tn Grk “since the plague of it was exceedingly great.”
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the description of the city.
18 tn Or “the city lies square.” On κεῖμαι (keimai) in this context, BDAG 537 s.v. 2 states, “lie, of things…ἡ πόλις τετράγωνος κεῖται is laid out as a square Rv 21:16.”
19 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
20 tn Grk “with the rod”; the word “measuring” is supplied from the description in v. 15.
21 tn Or “two thousand two hundred kilometers,” Grk “12,000 stades.” A stade was a measure of length about 607 ft (185 m).
22 tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.