¹ tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pw" eilhfa" kai hkousa") probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.

² tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.

³ tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).

⁴ tn Or “come on.”

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

⁶ tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁷ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.

¹⁰ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

¹¹ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹³ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

¹⁴ sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.

¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.

¹⁶ tn Grk “who were sealed.”

¹⁷ tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

²⁰ tn The words “just then” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²² tn The participle λαλοῦσαν (lalousan) has been translated as “began to speak.” The use of πάλιν (palin) indicates an ingressive idea.

²³ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

²⁴ tn Grk “again, saying.” The participle λέγουσαν (legousan) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

²⁵ tn The perfect passive participle ἠνεῳγμένον (hnewgmenon) is in second attributive position and has been translated as an attributive adjective.

²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²⁷ tn Though the nearest antecedent to the subject of ἤκουσαν (hkousan) is the people (“those who were watching them”), it could also be (based on what immediately follows) that the two prophets are the ones who heard the voice.

²⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the two prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁹ tn The conjunction καί (kai) seems to be introducing a temporal clause contemporaneous in time with the preceding clause.

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

³¹ tn Or “anger.” Here τοῦ θυμοῦ (tou qumou) has been translated as a genitive of content.

³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

³⁴ tn Grk “like the voice of a large crowd…saying.” Because of the complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”

³⁵ tc Several mss (א² P 1611 2053 2344 pc Ï^K lat ) read “the Lord our God” (κύριος ὁ θεός ἡμῶν, kurio" Jo qeo" Jhmwn). Other important mss (A 1006 1841 pc), however, omit the “our” (ἡμῶν). Further, certain mss (051 Ï^A) omit “Lord” (κύριος), while others (including א*) change the order of the statement to “God our Lord” (ὁ θεός ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν). The expression “the Lord God, the All-Powerful” occurs in 6 other places in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22) and the pronoun “our” is never used. Scribes familiar with the expression in this book, and especially with the frequent κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ (kurio" Jo qeo" Jo pantokratwr; “the Lord God, the All-Powerful”) in the OT Prophets (LXX; cf. Jer 39:19; Hos 12:6; Amos 3:13; 4:13; 5:8, 14, 15, 16, 27; 9:5, 6, 15; Nah 3:5; Zech 10:3), would naturally omit the pronoun. Its presence may have arisen due to liturgical motivations or to conform to the expression “our God” in 19:1, 5, but this seems much less likely than an aversion to using the pronoun here and only here in the Greek Bible in the fuller title κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ.

³⁶ 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…κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ π. Rv 19:6.”

³⁷ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

³⁸ tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ἀνθρώπων, anqrwpwn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (λαοί, laoi).

³⁹ tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁴⁰ tc ‡ Most mss (א Ï^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (αὐτῶν θεός, autwn qeos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (Ï^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (ἔσται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν θεὸς αὐτῶν, estai met’ autwn qeo" autwn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.