Wahyu 1:1

The Prologue

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, ¹  which God gave him to show his servants ²  what must happen very soon. ³  He made it clear ⁴  by sending his angel to his servant ⁵  John,

Wahyu 1:11

1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, ⁶  Smyrna, ⁷  Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Wahyu 6:4

6:4 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.

Wahyu 7:2

7:2 Then ¹²  I saw another angel ascending from the east, ¹³  who had ¹⁴  the seal ¹⁵  of the living God. He ¹⁶  shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission ¹⁷  to damage the earth and the sea: ¹⁸ 

Wahyu 8:13

8:13 Then ¹⁹  I looked, and I heard an ²⁰  eagle ²¹  flying directly overhead, ²²  proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!” ²³ 

Wahyu 10:9

10:9 So ²⁴  I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He ²⁵  said to me, “Take the scroll ²⁶  and eat it. It ²⁷  will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

Wahyu 11:19

11:19 Then ²⁸  the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, ²⁹  crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. ³⁰ 

Wahyu 12:4

12:4 Now ³¹  the dragon’s ³²  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ³³  the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

Wahyu 14:6

Three Angels and Three Messages

14:6 Then ³⁴  I saw another ³⁵  angel flying directly overhead, ³⁶  and he had ³⁷  an eternal gospel to proclaim ³⁸  to those who live ³⁹  on the earth – to every nation, tribe, ⁴⁰  language, and people.

Wahyu 14:13

14:13 Then ⁴¹  I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:

‘Blessed are the dead,

those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, ⁴²  because their deeds will follow them.” ⁴³ 

Wahyu 18:21

18:21 Then ⁴⁴  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 ⁴⁵ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ⁴⁶ 

and it will never be found again!

Wahyu 21:3

21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence ⁴⁷  of God is among human beings. ⁴⁸  He ⁴⁹  will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. ⁵⁰ 

Wahyu 21:6

21:6 He also said to me, “It is done! ⁵¹  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water ⁵²  free of charge ⁵³  from the spring of the water of life.

Wahyu 22:6

A Final Reminder

22:6 Then ⁵⁴  the angel ⁵⁵  said to me, “These words are reliable ⁵⁶  and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants ⁵⁷  what must happen soon.”

[1:1]  ¹ tn The phrase ἀποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (ajpokaluyi" Ihsou Cristou, “the revelation of Jesus Christ”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“the revelation about Jesus Christ”), subjective genitive (“the revelation from Jesus Christ”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). In 1:1 and 22:16 it is clear that Jesus has sent his angel to proclaim the message to John; thus the message is from Christ, and this would be a subjective genitive. On a broader scale, though, the revelation is about Christ, so this would be an objective genitive. One important point to note is that the phrase under consideration is best regarded as the title of the book and therefore refers to the whole of the work in all its aspects. This fact favors considering this as a plenary genitive.

[1:1]  ² tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³ tn BDAG 992-93 s.v. τάχος has “quickly, at once, without delay Ac 10:33 D; 12:7; 17:15 D; 22:18; 1 Cl 48:1; 63:4…soon, in a short time…Rv 1:1; 22:6…shortly Ac 25:4.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.

[1:11]  ⁶ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “and to Smyrna.” For stylistic reasons the conjunction καί (kai) and the preposition εἰς (eis) have not been translated before the remaining elements of the list. In lists with more than two elements contemporary English generally does not repeat the conjunction except between the next to last and last elements.

[6:4]  ⁸ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

[6:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:4]  ¹⁰ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “it was given to him to take peace from the earth.”

[6:4]  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.”

[7:2]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:2]  ¹³ 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.”

[7:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “having,” but v. 3 makes it clear that the angel’s purpose is to seal others with the seal he carries.

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “signet” (L&N 6.54).

[7:2]  ¹⁶ 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.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “to whom it was given to them to damage the earth.”

[7:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[8:13]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:13]  ²⁰ tn Grk “one eagle.”

[8:13]  ²¹ tc Ï^A reads “angel” (ἀγγέλου, angelou) instead of “eagle” (ἀετοῦ, aetou), a reading strongly supported by {א A 046 Ï^K and several versions}. On external grounds, ἀετοῦ is clearly the superior reading. ἀγγέλου could have arisen inadvertently due to similarities in spelling or sound between ἀετοῦ and ἀγγέλου. It may also have been intentional in order to bring this statement in line with 14:6 where an angel is mentioned as the one flying in midair. This seems a more likely reason, strengthened by the facts that the book only mentions eagles two other times (4:7; 12:14). Further, the immediate as well as broad context is replete with references to angels.

[8:13]  ²² tn Concerning the word μεσουράνημα (mesouranhma), L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’ εἶδον, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἁετοῦ πετομένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι ‘I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying overhead in the sky’ Re 8:13.”

[8:13]  ²³ tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.

[10:9]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the voice.

[10:9]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:9]  ²⁶ tn The words “the scroll” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:9]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:19]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence on events within the vision.

[11:19]  ²⁹ tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”

[11:19]  ³⁰ tn Although BDAG 1075 s.v. χάλαζα gives the meaning “hail” here, it is not clear whether the adjective μεγάλη (megalh) refers to the intensity of the storm or the size of the individual hailstones, or both.

[12:4]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ³² tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[14:6]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:6]  ³⁵ tc Most mss (Ì47 א* Ï sa) lack ἄλλον (allon, “another”) here, but the support for it is stronger (Ì^115vid א² A C P 051 1006 1611 1841 2053 2329 al latt sy bo). The problem that its inclusion represents is that there is no reference to any other angel in the immediate context (the last mention was in 11:15). In this instance, the longer reading is harder. The word was probably intentionally omitted in order to resolve the tension; less likely, it might have been accidentally omitted since its spelling is similar to “angel” (ἄγγελος, angelos).

[14:6]  ³⁶ tn L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’”

[14:6]  ³⁷ tn Grk “having.”

[14:6]  ³⁸ tn Or “an eternal gospel to announce as good news.”

[14:6]  ³⁹ tn Grk “to those seated on the earth.”

[14:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “and tribe,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[14:13]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:13]  ⁴² tn Or “from their trouble” (L&N 22.7).

[14:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “their deeds will follow with them.”

[18:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[21:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

[21:3]  ⁴⁸ 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).

[21:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[21:3]  ⁵⁰ 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.

[21:6]  ⁵¹ tn Or “It has happened.”

[21:6]  ⁵² tn The word “water” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:6]  ⁵³ tn Or “as a free gift” (see L&N 57.85).

[22:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[22:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15; 22:1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “faithful.”

[22:6]  ⁵⁷ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.