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 7:9
Context7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 6 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 7 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 8:3
Context8:3 Another 8 angel holding 9 a golden censer 10 came and was stationed 11 at the altar. A 12 large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne.
Revelation 11:6
Context11:6 These two have the power 13 to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the time 14 they are prophesying. They 15 have power 16 to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want.
Revelation 17:8
Context17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss 17 and then go to destruction. The 18 inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that 19 the beast was, and is not, but is to come.
Revelation 18:21
Context18:21 Then 20 one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force 21
Babylon the great city will be thrown down 22
and it will never be found again!
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 The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
7 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.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn Grk “having.”
10 sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.
11 tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.
12 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.
13 tn Or “authority.”
14 tn Grk “the days.”
15 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.
16 tn Or “authority.”
17 tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”
18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
21 tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.
22 sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.
