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 8:3

8:3 Another ⁶  angel holding ⁷  a golden censer ⁸  came and was stationed ⁹  at the altar. A ¹⁰  large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne.

Wahyu 12:4

12:4 Now ¹¹  the dragon’s ¹²  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ¹³  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 12:14

12:14 But ¹⁴  the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, ¹⁵  to the place God ¹⁶  prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time. ¹⁷ 

Wahyu 14:14

14:14 Then ¹⁸  I looked, and a white cloud appeared, ¹⁹  and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man! ²⁰  He had ²¹  a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Wahyu 20:6

20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part ²²  in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, ²³  but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Wahyu 21:8

21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, ²⁴  idol worshipers, ²⁵  and all those who lie, their place ²⁶  will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. ²⁷  That ²⁸  is the second death.”

Wahyu 21:27

21:27 but ²⁹  nothing ritually unclean ³⁰  will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable ³¹  or practices falsehood, ³²  but only those whose names ³³  are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

[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.

[8:3]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “having.”

[8:3]  ⁸ sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.

[8:3]  ⁹ tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.

[8:3]  ¹⁰ 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.

[12:4]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

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

[12:4]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:14]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “desert.”

[12:14]  ¹⁶ tn The word “God” is supplied based on the previous statements made concerning “the place prepared for the woman” in 12:6.

[12:14]  ¹⁷ tc The reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou) is lacking in the important uncial C. Its inclusion, however, is supported by {Ì⁴⁷ א A and the rest of the ms tradition}. There is apparently no reason for the scribe of C to intentionally omit the phrase, and the fact that the word “time” (καιρὸν καὶ καιρούς, kairon kai kairou") appears twice before may indicate a scribal oversight.

[12:14]  sn The parallel statement in Rev 12:6 suggests that the phrase a time, times, and half a time equals 1,260 days (three and a half years of 360 days each).

[14:14]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and behold, a white cloud.”

[14:14]  ²⁰ tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).

[14:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “like a son of man, having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence.

[20:6]  ²² tn Grk “who has a share.”

[20:6]  ²³ tn The shift from the singular pronoun (“the one”) to the plural (“them”) in the passage reflects the Greek text: The singular participle ὁ ἔχων (Jo ecwn) is followed by the plural pronoun τούτων (toutwn). In the interests of English style, this is obscured in most modern translations except the NASB.

[21:8]  ²⁴ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[21:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “idolaters.”

[21:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “their share.”

[21:8]  ²⁷ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[21:8]  ²⁸ tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”

[21:27]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:27]  ³⁰ tn Here BDAG 552 s.v. κοινός 2 states, “pert. to being of little value because of being common, common, ordinary, profane…b. specifically, of that which is ceremonially impure: Rv 21:27.”

[21:27]  ³¹ tn Or “what is abhorrent”; Grk “who practices abominations.”

[21:27]  ³² tn Grk “practicing abomination or falsehood.” Because of the way βδέλυγμα (bdelugma) has been translated (“does what is detestable”) it was necessary to repeat the idea from the participle ποιῶν (poiwn, “practices”) before the term “falsehood.” On this term, BDAG 1097 s.v. ψεῦδος states, “ποιεῖν ψεῦδος practice (the things that go with) falsehood Rv 21:27; 22:15.” Cf. Rev 3:9.

[21:27]  ³³ tn Grk “those who are written”; the word “names” is implied.