Wahyu 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 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.”

Wahyu 9:20

9:20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made ⁶  of gold, silver, ⁷  bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.

Wahyu 13:14

13:14 and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told ⁸  those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived.

Wahyu 17:8

17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss ⁹  and then go to destruction. The ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

[4:1]  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).

[4:1]  ² tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  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.”

[4:1]  ⁴ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  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.

[9:20]  ⁶ tn The word “made” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[9:20]  ⁷ tn The Greek conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following materials in this list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[13:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

[13:14]  sn He told followed by an infinitive (“to make an image…”) is sufficiently ambiguous in Greek that it could be taken as “he ordered” (so NIV) or “he persuaded” (so REB).

[17:8]  ⁹ 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.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:8]  ¹¹ 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).