Wahyu 1:5

1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful ¹  witness, ²  the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free ³  from our sins at the cost of ⁴  his own blood

Wahyu 6:4

6:4 And another horse, fiery red, ⁵  came out, and the one who rode it ⁶  was granted permission ⁷  to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher ⁸  one another, and he was given a huge sword.

Wahyu 7:15

7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ⁹  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ¹⁰ 

Wahyu 16:2

16:2 So ¹¹  the first angel ¹²  went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Then ¹³  ugly and painful sores ¹⁴  appeared on the people ¹⁵  who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

Wahyu 18:21

18:21 Then ¹⁶  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 ¹⁷ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ¹⁸ 

and it will never be found again!

Wahyu 21:9

The New Jerusalem Descends

21:9 Then ¹⁹  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, ²⁰  saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!”

[1:5]  ¹ tn Or “Jesus Christ – the faithful one, the witness…” Some take ὁ πιστός (Jo pistos) as a second substantive in relation to ὁ μάρτυς (Jo martus). In the present translation, however, ὁ πιστός was taken as an adjective in attributive position to ὁ μάρτυς. The idea of martyrdom and faithfulness are intimately connected. See BDAG 820 s.v. πιστός 1.a.α: “ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου Rv 2:13 (μάρτυς 3); in this ‘book of martyrs’ Christ is ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς (καὶ ὁ ἀληθινός) 1:5; 3:14; cp. 19:11 (the combination of ἀληθινός and πιστός in the last two passages is like 3 Macc 2:11). Cp. Rv 17:14.”

[1:5]  ² sn The Greek term translated witness can mean both “witness” and “martyr.”

[1:5]  ³ tc The reading “set free” (λύσαντι, lusanti) has better ms support (̹⁸ א A C 1611 2050 2329 2351 Ï^A sy) than its rival, λούσαντι (lousanti, “washed”; found in P 1006 1841 1854 2053 2062 Ï^K lat bo). Internally, it seems that the reading “washed” could have arisen in at least one of three ways: (1) as an error of hearing (both “released” and “washed” are pronounced similarly in Greek); (2) an error of sight (both “released” and “washed” look very similar – a difference of only one letter – which could have resulted in a simple error during the copying of a ms); (3) through scribal inability to appreciate that the Hebrew preposition ב can be used with a noun to indicate the price paid for something. Since the author of Revelation is influenced significantly by a Semitic form of Greek (e.g., 13:10), and since the Hebrew preposition “in” (ב) can indicate the price paid for something, and is often translated with the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) in the LXX, the author may have tried to communicate by the use of ἐν the idea of a price paid for something. That is, John was trying to say that Christ delivered us at the price of his own blood. This whole process, however, may have been lost on a later scribe, who being unfamiliar with Hebrew, found the expression “delivered in his blood” too difficult, and noticing the obvious similarities between λύσαντι and λούσαντι, assumed an error and then proceeded to change the text to “washed in his blood” – a thought more tolerable in his mind. Both readings, of course, are true to scripture; the current question is what the author wrote in this verse.

[1:5]  tn Or “and released us” (L&N 37.127).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The style here is somewhat Semitic, with the use of the ἐν (en) + the dative to mean “at the price of.” The addition of “own” in the English is stylistic and is an attempt to bring out the personal nature of the statement and the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ death – a frequent refrain in the Apocalypse.

[6:4]  ⁵ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

[6:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:4]  ⁷ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “it was given to him to take peace from the earth.”

[6:4]  ⁸ 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.”

[7:15]  ⁹ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[16:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the directions given by the voice from the temple.

[16:2]  ¹² tn Grk “the first”; the referent (the first angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “ulcerated sores”; the term in the Greek text is singular but is probably best understood as a collective singular.

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk ‘the men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.

[18:21]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ¹⁷ 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.

[18:21]  ¹⁸ 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.

[21:9]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:9]  ²⁰ 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.