¹ tn Grk “John.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

² tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

³ tn It is probable that the ὑμῖν (Jumin) applies to both elements of the greeting, i.e., to both grace and peace.

⁴ tc The earliest and best mss (Ì^18vid א A C P 2050 al lat sy co) lack the term “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) between “from” (ἀπό, apo) and “he who is” (ὁ ὤν, Jo wn). Its inclusion, as supported by the bulk of the Byzantine witnesses, is clearly secondary and a scribal attempt to achieve two things: (1) to make explicit the referent in the passage, namely, God, and (2) to smooth out the grammar. The preposition “from” in Greek required a noun in the genitive case. But here in Rev 1:4 the words following the preposition “from” (ἀπό) are in another case, i.e., the nominative. There are two principal ways in which to deal with this grammatical anomaly. First, it could be a mistake arising from someone who just did not know Greek very well, or as a Jew, was heavily influenced by a Semitic form of Greek. Both of these unintentional errors are unlikely here. Commenting on this ExSyn 63 argues: “Either of these is doubtful here because (1) such a flagrant misunderstanding of the rudiments of Greek would almost surely mean that the author could not compose in Greek, yet the Apocalypse itself argues against this; (2) nowhere else does the Seer [i.e., John] use a nom. immediately after a preposition (in fact, he uses ἀπό 32 times with the gen. immediately following).” The passage appears to be an allusion to Exod 3:14 (in the LXX) where God refers to himself as “he who is” (ὁ ὤν), the same wording in Greek as here in Rev 1:4. Thus, it appears that John is wanting to leave the divine name untouched (perhaps to allude to God’s immutability, or as a pointer to the Old Testament as the key to unlocking the meaning of this book), irrespective of what it “looks” like grammatically. The translation has placed the “he who is” in quotation marks to indicate to the reader that the syntactical awkwardness is intentional. (For further comments, see ExSyn 63).

⁵ tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.d states: “The expr. εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ‘ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος’ Rv 1:4 is quite extraordinary. It may be an interpretation of the name Yahweh already current, or an attempt to show reverence for the divine name by preserving it unchanged, or simply one more of the grammatical peculiarities so frequent in Rv.”

⁶ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

⁷ tn Grk “I will make him,” but the pronoun (αὐτόν, auton, “him”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁹ sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

¹¹ tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).

¹² tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.” The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. This phrase does not imply that the Lamb “appeared to have been killed” but in reality was not, because the wider context of the NT shows that in fact the Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed. See 13:3 for the only other occurrence of this phrase in the NT.

¹³ tn Grk “killed, 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.”

¹⁴ sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.

¹⁵ tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; ̲⁴ א 2053 2351 Ï^K). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 Ï^A pc). It may have been accidentally added due to its repeated presence in the immediately preceding phrases, or it may have been intentionally added to maintain the symmetry of the phrases or more likely to harmonize the phrase with 1:4; 3:1; 4:5. Or it may have been accidentally deleted by way of homoioteleuton (τὰ ἑπτά, ta Jepta). A decision is difficult in this instance. NA²⁷ also does not find the problem easy to solve, placing the word in brackets to indicate doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁶ sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.

¹⁷ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

¹⁸ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁹ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

²¹ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the voice.

²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁶ tn The words “the scroll” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

²⁹ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

³¹ tn Grk “he himself.”

³² tn The Greek word for “anger” here is θυμός (qumos), a wordplay on the “passion” (θυμός) of the personified city of Babylon in 14:8.

³³ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s announcement.

³⁵ tn Grk “I fell down at his feet.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

³⁷ tn On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή (Jora mh) BDAG 720 s.v. ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically…ὅρα μή (sc. ποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”

³⁸ tn The lowliness of a slave is emphasized in the Greek text with the emphatic position of σύνδουλος (sundoulo"). The use of “only” helps to bring this nuance out in English.

³⁹ tn Grk “fellow slave.” See the note on the word “servants” in v. 2.

⁴⁰ tn The Greek term “brother” literally refers to family relationships, but here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).

⁴¹ tn The genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) has been translated as an objective genitive here. A subjective genitive, also possible, would produce the meaning “who hold to what Jesus testifies.”

⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

⁴³ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

⁴⁴ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

⁴⁵ tn Or “It has happened.”

⁴⁶ tn The word “water” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁴⁷ tn Or “as a free gift” (see L&N 57.85).