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 2:10

2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown ⁵  into prison so you may be tested, ⁶  and you will experience suffering ⁷  for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. ⁸ 

Wahyu 3:9

3:9 Listen! ⁹  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ¹⁰  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ¹¹  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ¹²  them come and bow down ¹³  at your feet and acknowledge ¹⁴  that I have loved you.

Wahyu 11:18

11:18 The ¹⁵  nations ¹⁶  were enraged,

but ¹⁷  your wrath has come,

and the time has come for the dead to be judged,

and the time has come to give to your servants, ¹⁸ 

the prophets, their reward,

as well as to the saints

and to those who revere ¹⁹  your name, both small and great,

and the time has come ²⁰  to destroy those who destroy ²¹  the earth.”

[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.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Or “tempted.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

[3:9]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

[3:9]  ¹² tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

[3:9]  ¹³ tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”

[11:18]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:18]  ¹⁶ tn Or “The Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[11:18]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:18]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:18]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “who fear.”

[11:18]  ²⁰ tn The words “the time has come” do not occur except at the beginning of the verse; the phrase has been repeated for emphasis and contrast. The Greek has one finite verb (“has come”) with a compound subject (“your wrath,” “the time”), followed by three infinitive clauses (“to be judged,” “to give,” “to destroy”). The rhetorical power of the repetition of the finite verb in English thus emulates the rhetorical power of its lone instance in Greek.

[11:18]  ²¹ tn Or “who deprave.” There is a possible wordplay here on two meanings for διαφθείρω (diafqeirw), with the first meaning “destroy” and the second meaning either “to ruin” or “to make morally corrupt.” See L&N 20.40.