20:1 Then 6 I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding 7 in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn The expression τῶν θυμιαμάτων (twn qumiamatwn) is taken as a “genitive of producer,” i.e., the noun in the genitive produces the head noun.
3 tn Grk “and having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
4 tn Or “forced”; Grk “makes” (ποιεῖ, poiei).
5 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
6 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
7 tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.