Kejadian 3:15

3:15 And I will put hostility ¹  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ² 

her offspring will attack ³  your head,

and ⁴  you ⁵  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ⁶ 

Yosua 10:24-25

10:24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he ⁷  summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here ⁸  and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up ⁹  and put their feet on their necks. 10:25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ¹⁰  Be strong and brave, for the Lord will do the same thing to all your enemies you fight.

Mazmur 2:8-12

2:8 Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, ¹¹ 

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

2:9 You will break them ¹²  with an iron scepter; ¹³ 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ¹⁴ 

2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; ¹⁵ 

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! ¹⁶ 

2:11 Serve ¹⁷  the Lord in fear!

Repent in terror! ¹⁸ 

2:12 Give sincere homage! ¹⁹ 

Otherwise he ²⁰  will be angry, ²¹ 

and you will die because of your behavior, ²² 

when his anger quickly ignites. ²³ 

How blessed ²⁴  are all who take shelter in him! ²⁵ 

Mazmur 18:40-42

18:40 You make my enemies retreat; ²⁶ 

I destroy those who hate me. ²⁷ 

18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; ²⁸ 

they cry out to the Lord, ²⁹  but he does not answer them.

18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; ³⁰ 

I beat them underfoot ³¹  like clay ³²  in the streets.

Mazmur 21:8-12

21:8 You ³³  prevail over ³⁴  all your enemies;

your power is too great for those who hate you. ³⁵ 

21:9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace ³⁶  when you appear; ³⁷ 

the Lord angrily devours them; ³⁸ 

the fire consumes them.

21:10 You destroy their offspring ³⁹  from the earth,

their descendants ⁴⁰  from among the human race. ⁴¹ 

21:11 Yes, ⁴²  they intend to do you harm; ⁴³ 

they dream up a scheme, ⁴⁴  but they do not succeed. ⁴⁵ 

21:12 For you make them retreat ⁴⁶ 

when you shoot your arrows at them. ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 72:9

72:9 Before him the coastlands ⁴⁸  will bow down,

and his enemies will lick the dust. ⁴⁹ 

Yesaya 49:23

49:23 Kings will be your children’s ⁵⁰  guardians;

their princesses will nurse your children. ⁵¹ 

With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you

and they will lick the dirt on ⁵²  your feet.

Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;

those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

Yesaya 59:18

59:18 He repays them for what they have done,

dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries

and punishing his enemies. ⁵³ 

He repays the coastlands. ⁵⁴ 

Yesaya 60:14

60:14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;

all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.

They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,

Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’ ⁵⁵ 

Yesaya 63:4-6

63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,

and then payback time arrived. ⁵⁶ 

63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;

I was shocked because there was no one offering support. ⁵⁷ 

So my right arm accomplished deliverance;

my raging anger drove me on. ⁵⁸ 

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ⁵⁹  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ⁶⁰ 

Lukas 19:27

19:27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, ⁶¹  bring them here and slaughter ⁶²  them ⁶³  in front of me!’”

Lukas 20:16-18

20:16 He will come and destroy ⁶⁴  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ⁶⁵  When the people ⁶⁶  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ⁶⁷  20:17 But Jesus ⁶⁸  looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? ⁶⁹  20:18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, ⁷⁰  and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” ⁷¹ 

Roma 16:20

16:20 The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Wahyu 19:19--20:3

19:19 Then ⁷²  I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. 19:20 Now ⁷³  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁷⁴  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ⁷⁵  19:21 The ⁷⁶  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ⁷⁷  themselves with their flesh.

The Thousand Year Reign

20:1 Then ⁷⁸  I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding ⁷⁹  in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 20:2 He ⁸⁰  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ⁸¹  then ⁸²  threw him into the abyss and locked ⁸³  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

Wahyu 20:8-15

20:8 and will go out to deceive ⁸⁴  the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, ⁸⁵  to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. ⁸⁶  20:9 They ⁸⁷  went up ⁸⁸  on the broad plain of the earth ⁸⁹  and encircled ⁹⁰  the camp ⁹¹  of the saints and the beloved city, but ⁹²  fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. ⁹³  20:10 And the devil who deceived ⁹⁴  them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, ⁹⁵  where the beast and the false prophet are ⁹⁶  too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ⁹⁷  I saw a large ⁹⁸  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ⁹⁹  fled ¹⁰⁰  from his presence, and no place was found for them. 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then ¹⁰¹  books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. ¹⁰²  So ¹⁰³  the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. ¹⁰⁴  20:13 The ¹⁰⁵  sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death ¹⁰⁶  and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 20:14 Then ¹⁰⁷  Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death – the lake of fire. 20:15 If ¹⁰⁸  anyone’s name ¹⁰⁹  was not found written in the book of life, that person ¹¹⁰  was thrown into the lake of fire.

[3:15]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.

[3:15]  ² sn The Hebrew word translated “offspring” is a collective singular. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between human beings (the woman’s offspring) and deadly poisonous snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51).

[3:15]  ³ tn Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).

[3:15]  ⁵ sn You will attack her offspring’s heel. Though the conflict will actually involve the serpent’s offspring (snakes) and the woman’s offspring (human beings), v. 15b for rhetorical effect depicts the conflict as being between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, as if the serpent will outlive the woman. The statement is personalized for the sake of the addressee (the serpent) and reflects the ancient Semitic concept of corporate solidarity, which emphasizes the close relationship between a progenitor and his offspring. Note Gen 28:14, where the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out in all directions.” Jacob will “spread out” in all directions through his offspring, but the text states the matter as if this will happen to him personally.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal.

[3:15]  sn The etiological nature of v. 15 is apparent, though its relevance for modern western man is perhaps lost because we rarely come face to face with poisonous snakes. Ancient Israelites, who often encountered snakes in their daily activities (see, for example, Eccl 10:8; Amos 5:19), would find the statement quite meaningful as an explanation for the hostility between snakes and humans. (In the broader ancient Near Eastern context, compare the Mesopotamian serpent omens. See H. W. F. Saggs, The Greatness That Was Babylon, 309.) This ongoing struggle, when interpreted in light of v. 15, is a tangible reminder of the conflict introduced into the world by the first humans’ rebellion against God. Many Christian theologians (going back to Irenaeus) understand v. 15 as the so-called protevangelium, supposedly prophesying Christ’s victory over Satan (see W. Witfall, “Genesis 3:15 – a Protevangelium?” CBQ 36 [1974]: 361-65; and R. A. Martin, “The Earliest Messianic Interpretation of Genesis 3:15,” JBL 84 [1965]: 425-27). In this allegorical approach, the woman’s offspring is initially Cain, then the whole human race, and ultimately Jesus Christ, the offspring (Heb “seed”) of the woman (see Gal 4:4). The offspring of the serpent includes the evil powers and demons of the spirit world, as well as those humans who are in the kingdom of darkness (see John 8:44). According to this view, the passage gives the first hint of the gospel. Satan delivers a crippling blow to the Seed of the woman (Jesus), who in turn delivers a fatal blow to the Serpent (first defeating him through the death and resurrection [1 Cor 15:55-57] and then destroying him in the judgment [Rev 12:7-9; 20:7-10]). However, the grammatical structure of Gen 3:15b does not suggest this view. The repetition of the verb “attack,” as well as the word order, suggests mutual hostility is being depicted, not the defeat of the serpent. If the serpent’s defeat were being portrayed, it is odd that the alleged description of his death comes first in the sentence. If he has already been crushed by the woman’s “Seed,” how can he bruise his heel? To sustain the allegorical view, v. 15b must be translated in one of the following ways: “he will crush your head, even though you attack his heel” (in which case the second clause is concessive) or “he will crush your head as you attack his heel” (the clauses, both of which place the subject before the verb, may indicate synchronic action).

[10:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.

[10:24]  ⁸ tn Or “Draw near.”

[10:24]  ⁹ tn Or “drew near.”

[10:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[2:8]  ¹¹ sn I will give you the nations. The Lord promises the Davidic king universal dominion.

[2:9]  ¹² tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

[2:9]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

[2:9]  ¹⁴ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

[2:10]  ¹⁵ sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew verb translated “serve” refers here to submitting to the Lord’s sovereignty as expressed through the rule of the Davidic king. Such “service” would involve maintaining allegiance to the Davidic king by paying tribute on a regular basis.

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “rejoice with trembling” (KJV). The verb גִּיל (gil) normally means “rejoice,” but this meaning does not fit well here in conjunction with “in trembling.” Some try to understand “trembling” (and the parallel יִרְאָה, yir’ah, “fear”) in the sense of “reverential awe” and then take the verbs “serve” and “rejoice” in the sense of “worship” (cf. NASB). But רְעָדָה (rÿ’adah, “trembling”) and its related terms consistently refer to utter terror and fear (see Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Pss 48:6; 55:5; 104:32; Isa 33:14; Dan 10:11) or at least great emotional distress (Ezra 10:9). It seems more likely here that גִּיל carries its polarized meaning “mourn, lament,” as in Hos 10:5. “Mourn, lament” would then be metonymic in this context for “repent” (referring to one’s rebellious ways). On the meaning of the verb in Hos 10:5, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-57.

[2:12]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “kiss the son” (KJV). But בַּר (bar) is the Aramaic word for “son,” not the Hebrew. For this reason many regard the reading as suspect. Some propose emendations of vv. 11b-12a. One of the more popular proposals is to read בִּרְעָדָה נַשְּׁקוּ לְרַגְלָיו (bir’adah nashÿqu lÿraslayv, “in trembling kiss his feet”). It makes better sense to understand בַּר (bar) as an adjective meaning “pure” (see Pss 24:4; 73:1 and BDB 141 s.v. בַּר 3) functioning here in an adverbial sense. If read this way, then the syntactical structure of exhortation (imperative followed by adverbial modifier) corresponds to the two preceding lines (see v. 11). The verb נָשַׁק (nashaq, “kiss”) refers metonymically to showing homage (see 1 Sam 10:1; Hos 13:2). The exhortation in v. 12a advocates a genuine expression of allegiance and warns against insincerity. When swearing allegiance, vassal kings would sometimes do so insincerely, with the intent of rebelling when the time was right. The so-called “Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon” also warn against such an attitude. In this treaty the vassal is told: “If you, as you stand on the soil where this oath [is sworn], swear the oath with your words and lips [only], do not swear with your entire heart, do not transmit it to your sons who will live after this treaty, if you take this curse upon yourselves but do not plan to keep the treaty of Esarhaddon…may your sons and grandsons because of this fear in the future” (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 2:62).

[2:12]  ²⁰ tn Throughout the translation of this verse the third person masculine pronouns refer to the Lord (cf. v. 11).

[2:12]  ²¹ tn The implied subject of the verb is the Lord, mentioned in v. 11. Elsewhere the subject of this verb is consistently the Lord, suggesting it may be a technical term for divine anger. Anger is here used metonymically for judgment, as the following statement makes clear. A Moabite cognate occurs in the Mesha inscription, where it is used of the Moabite god Chemosh’s anger at his people (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 1:209).

[2:12]  ²² tn Heb “and you will perish [in the] way.” The Hebrew word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to their rebellious behavior (not to a pathway, as often understood). It functions syntactically as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb “perish.”

[2:12]  ²³ tn Or “burns.” The Lord’s anger is compared here to fire, the most destructive force known in ancient Israel.

[2:12]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[2:12]  ²⁵ sn Who take shelter in him. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:40]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck”].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” Cf. Exod 23:27.

[18:40]  ²⁷ sn Those who hate me. See v. 17, where it is the Lord who delivered the psalmist from those who hated him.

[18:41]  ²⁸ tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”

[18:41]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to the Lord.” The words “they cry out” are supplied in the translation because they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[18:41]  sn They cry out. This reference to the psalmist’s enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 271.

[18:42]  ³⁰ tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”

[18:42]  ³¹ tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.

[18:42]  ³² tn Or “mud.”

[21:8]  ³³ tn The king is now addressed. One could argue that the Lord is still being addressed, but v. 9 militates against this proposal, for there the Lord is mentioned in the third person and appears to be distinct from the addressee (unless, of course, one takes “Lord” in v. 9 as vocative; see the note on “them” in v. 9b). Verse 7 begins this transition to a new addressee by referring to both the king and the Lord in the third person (in vv. 1-6 the Lord is addressed and only the king referred to in the third person).

[21:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your hand finds.” The idiom pictures the king grabbing hold of his enemies and defeating them (see 1 Sam 23:17). The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 8-12 may be translated with the future tense, as long as the future is understood as generalizing.

[21:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “your right hand finds those who hate you.”

[21:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “you make them like a furnace of fire.” Although many modern translations retain the literal Hebrew, the statement is elliptical. The point is not that he makes them like a furnace, but like an object burned in a furnace (cf. NEB, “at your coming you shall plunge them into a fiery furnace”).

[21:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “at the time of your face.” The “face” of the king here refers to his angry presence. See Lam 4:16.

[21:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the Lord, in his anger he swallows them, and fire devours them.” Some take “the Lord” as a vocative, in which case he is addressed in vv. 8-9a. But this makes the use of the third person in v. 9b rather awkward, though the king could be the subject (see vv. 1-7).

[21:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.

[21:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “seed.”

[21:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[21:11]  ⁴² tn Or “for.”

[21:11]  ⁴³ tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).

[21:11]  ⁴⁴ sn See Ps 10:2.

[21:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “they lack ability.”

[21:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “you make them a shoulder,” i.e., “you make them turn and run, showing the back of their neck and shoulders.”

[21:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “with your bowstrings you fix against their faces,” i.e., “you fix your arrows on the bowstrings to shoot at them.”

[72:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.

[72:9]  ⁴⁹ sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.

[49:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).

[49:23]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.

[49:23]  ⁵² tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”

[59:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”

[59:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).

[60:14]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[63:4]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.

[63:5]  ⁵⁷ sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.

[63:5]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”

[63:6]  ⁵⁹ sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).

[19:27]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “to rule over them.”

[19:27]  ⁶² tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).

[19:27]  ⁶³ sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.

[20:16]  ⁶⁴ sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.

[20:16]  ⁶⁵ sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.

[20:16]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:16]  ⁶⁷ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.

[20:17]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:17]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[20:17]  sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 here is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.

[20:18]  ⁷⁰ tn On this term, see BDAG 972 s.v. συνθλάω.

[20:18]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

[20:18]  sn This proverb basically means that the stone crushes, without regard to whether it falls on someone or someone falls on it. On the stone as a messianic image, see Isa 28:16 and Dan 2:44-45.

[19:19]  ⁷² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ⁷³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ⁷⁴ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ⁷⁵ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ⁷⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ⁷⁷ tn On the translation of ἐχορτάσθησαν (ecortasqhsan) BDAG 1087 s.v. χορτάζω 1.a states, “of animals, pass. in act. sense πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἐχορτάσθησαν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh Rv 19:21 (cp. TestJud. 21:8).”

[20:1]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:1]  ⁷⁹ tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.

[20:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ⁸² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ⁸³ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.

[20:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “mislead.”

[20:8]  ⁸⁵ sn The battle with Gog and Magog is described in the OT in Ezek 38:1-39:20.

[20:8]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “of whom the number of them [is] like the sand of the sea” (an allusion to Isa 10:22).

[20:9]  ⁸⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:9]  ⁸⁸ tn The shift here to past tense reflects the Greek text.

[20:9]  ⁸⁹ tn On the phrase “broad plain of the earth” BDAG 823 s.v. πλάτος states, “τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς Rv 20:9 comes fr. the OT (Da 12:2 LXX. Cp. Hab 1:6; Sir 1:3), but the sense is not clear: breadth = the broad plain of the earth is perh. meant to provide room for the countless enemies of God vs. 8, but the ‘going up’ is better suited to Satan (vs. 7) who has recently been freed, and who comes up again fr. the abyss (vs. 3).” The referent here thus appears to be a plain large enough to accommodate the numberless hoards that have drawn up for battle against the Lord Christ and his saints.

[20:9]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “surrounded.”

[20:9]  ⁹¹ tn On the term παρεμβολή (parembolh) BDAG 775 s.v. states, “Mostly used as a military t.t.…so always in our lit.…1. a (fortified) camp…ἡ παρεμβολὴ τῶν ἁγίων Rv 20:9 is also to be understood fr. the OT use of the word.”

[20:9]  ⁹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[20:9]  ⁹³ tn See L&N 20.45 for the translation of κατεσθίω (katesqiw) as “to destroy utterly, to consume completely.”

[20:10]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “misled.”

[20:10]  ⁹⁵ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:10]  ⁹⁶ tn The verb in this clause is elided. In keeping with the previous past tenses some translations supply a past tense verb here (“were”), but in view of the future tense that follows (“they will be tormented”), a present tense verb was used to provide a transition from the previous past tense to the future tense that follows.

[20:11]  ⁹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:11]  ⁹⁸ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

[20:11]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

[20:11]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “vanished.”

[20:11]  sn The phrase the earth and the heaven fled from his presence can be understood (1) as visual imagery representing the fear of corruptible matter in the presence of God, but (2) it can also be understood more literally as the dissolution of the universe as we know it in preparation for the appearance of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1).

[20:12]  ¹⁰¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:12]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “another book was opened, which is of life.”

[20:12]  ¹⁰³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the books being opened.

[20:12]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Grk “from the things written in the books according to their works.”

[20:13]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:13]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Here Death is personified (cf. 1 Cor 15:55).

[20:14]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:15]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:15]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The word “name” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[20:15]  ¹¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the pronoun has been intensified by translating as “that person.”