Discovery BoxRevelation 6:2 
Context6:2 So 1 I looked, 2 and here came 3 a white horse! The 4 one who rode it 5 had a bow, and he was given a crown, 6 and as a conqueror 7 he rode out to conquer.
Revelation 6:4
Context6:4 And another horse, fiery red, 8 came out, and the one who rode it 9 was granted permission 10 to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher 11 one another, and he was given a huge sword.
Revelation 6:9
Context6:9 Now 12 when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed 13 because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.
Revelation 7:2
Context7:2 Then 14 I saw another angel ascending from the east, 15 who had 16 the seal 17 of the living God. He 18 shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission 19 to damage the earth and the sea: 20
Revelation 9:1
Context9:1 Then 21 the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky 22 to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. 23
Revelation 9:5
Context9:5 The locusts 24 were not given permission 25 to kill 26 them, but only to torture 27 them 28 for five months, and their torture was like that 29 of a scorpion when it stings a person. 30
Revelation 11:1-2
Context11:1 Then 31 a measuring rod 32 like a staff was given to me, and I was told, 33 “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. 11:2 But 34 do not measure the outer courtyard 35 of the temple; leave it out, 36 because it has been given to the Gentiles, 37 and they will trample on the holy city 38 for forty-two months.
Revelation 13:4
Context13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority 39 to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” 40
Revelation 16:19
Context16:19 The 41 great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations 42 collapsed. 43 So 44 Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup 45 filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath. 46
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of hearing the voice summon the first rider.
2 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 come through the
3 tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
5 tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”
sn The one who rode it. The identity of the first rider on the white horse has been discussed at great length by interpreters. Several answers are given: (1) A number understand the rider on the white horse to be Christ himself, identifying this horse and rider with the one mentioned in 19:11, where the identification is clear (cf. 19:13, 16). It must be noted, though, that there is little in common between the two riders beyond the white horse. The word for “crown” is different, the armament is different, and the context here is different (conquest vs. retribution), with three other horsemen bringing catastrophe following. (2) Others see the rider on the white horse representing a spirit of military conquest that dominates human history and leads to the catastrophes that follow. (3) Another possibility is that the white horse rider represents the Antichrist, who appears later in Rev 11:7; 13:17, and whose similarity to Christ explains the similarity with the rider in 19:11. This interpretation has been discussed at length by M. Rissi, “The Rider on the White Horse: A Study of Revelation 6:1-8,” Int 18 (1964): 407-18. This interpretation is the most probable one.
6 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
7 tn The participle νικῶν (nikwn) has been translated as substantival, the subject of the verb ἐξῆλθεν (exhlqen). Otherwise, as an adverbial participle of manner, it is somewhat redundant: “he rode out conquering and to conquer.”
8 tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”
9 tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”
10 tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “it was given to him to take peace from the earth.”
11 tn BDAG 979 s.v. σφάζω states, “Of the killing of a person by violence…σφάζειν τινά butcher or murder someone (4 Km 10:7; Jer 52:10; Manetho: 609 fgm. 8, 76 Jac. [in Jos., C. Ap. 1, 76]; Demetr.[?]: 722 fgm. 7; Ar. 10, 9) 1J 3:12; Rv 6:4. Pass. (Hdt. 5, 5) 5:9; 6:9; 18:24.”
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.
13 tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
15 tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12…simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”
16 tn Grk “having,” but v. 3 makes it clear that the angel’s purpose is to seal others with the seal he carries.
17 tn Or “signet” (L&N 6.54).
18 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.
19 tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “to whom it was given to them to damage the earth.”
20 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
22 tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
23 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.”
24 tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
26 tn The two ἵνα (Jina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edoqh).
27 tn On this term BDAG 168 s.v. βασανισμός states, “1. infliction of severe suffering or pain associated with torture or torment, tormenting, torture Rv 9:5b. – 2. the severe pain experienced through torture, torment vs. 5a; 14:11; 18:10, 15; (w. πένθος) vs. 7.”
28 tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.
29 tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.
30 tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.
31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
32 tn Grk “a reed” (but these were used for measuring). Cf. Ezek 40:3ff.
33 tn Grk “saying.”
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
35 tn On the term αὐλήν (aulhn) BDAG 150 s.v. αὐλή 1 states, “(outer) court of the temple…Rv 11:2.”
36 tn The precise meaning of the phrase ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν (ekbale exwqen) is difficult to determine.
37 tn Or “to the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
38 sn The holy city appears to be a reference to Jerusalem. See also Luke 21:24.
39 tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.
40 tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.
41 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
42 tn Or “of the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
43 tn Grk “fell.”
44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Babylon’s misdeeds (see Rev 14:8).
45 tn Grk “the cup of the wine of the anger of the wrath of him.” The concatenation of four genitives has been rendered somewhat differently by various translations (see the note on the word “wrath”).
46 tn Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumo") and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9). Thus in Rev 14:8 (to which the present passage alludes) and 18:3 there is irony: The wine of immoral behavior with which Babylon makes the nations drunk becomes the wine of God’s wrath for her.
