¹ tn Grk “the twenty-four elders fall 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.”

² sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

³ tn The pronoun “his” is understood from the demonstrative force of the article τοῦ (tou) before θρόνου (qronou).

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

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

⁹ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

¹⁰ sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹² 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.

¹³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the two prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn The conjunction καί (kai) seems to be introducing a temporal clause contemporaneous in time with the preceding clause.

¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

¹⁷ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

¹⁸ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

²⁰ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

²¹ 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).

²² tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²³ 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.

²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

²⁵ 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.” See also v. 15.