Discovery BoxRevelation 4:1 
Context4:1 After these things I looked, and there was 1 a door standing open in heaven! 2 And the first voice I had heard speaking to me 3 like a trumpet 4 said: “Come up here so that 5 I can show you what must happen after these things.”
Revelation 5:6
Context5:6 Then 6 I saw standing in the middle of the throne 7 and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. 8 He had 9 seven horns and seven eyes, which 10 are the seven 11 spirits of God 12 sent out into all the earth.
Revelation 7:9
Context7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 13 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 14 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 15:2
Context15:2 Then 15 I saw something like a sea of glass 16 mixed with fire, and those who had conquered 17 the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing 18 by 19 the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God. 20
Revelation 20:12
Context20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then 21 books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. 22 So 23 the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 24
1 tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
2 tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
3 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.”
4 sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.
5 tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
7 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
8 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.
9 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.”
10 sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.
11 tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; Ì24 א 2053 2351 ÏK). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 ÏA 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.
12 sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.
13 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
16 sn See Rev 4:6 where the sea of glass was mentioned previously.
17 tn Or “had been victorious over”; traditionally, “had overcome.”
18 tn Grk “of his name, standing.” A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”
19 tn Or “on.” The preposition ἐπί (epi) with the accusative case could mean “on, at, by, near”; given the nature of this scene appearing in a vision, it is difficult to know precisely which the author of Revelation intended. See BDAG 363 s.v. ἐπί 1.c.γ, “At, by, near someone or someth.”
20 tn Grk “harps of God.” The phrase τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of agency.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
22 tn Grk “another book was opened, which is of life.”
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the books being opened.
24 tn Grk “from the things written in the books according to their works.”
