Text -- Revelation 10:1-9 (NET)

The Angel with the Little Scroll

10:1 Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire. 10:2 He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 10:3 Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. 10:4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.” 10:5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 10:6 and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay! 10:7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.” 10:8 Then the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 10:9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 10:1

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn Or “clothed.”

³ tn Or “like fiery pillars,” translating πυρός (puros) as an attributive genitive.

NET Notes: Rev 10:2

¹ tn Grk “and having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

NET Notes: Rev 10:3

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

NET Notes: Rev 10:4

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

² tn The words “just then” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

NET Notes: Rev 10:5

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

NET Notes: Rev 10:6

¹ tn On this phrase see BDAG 1092 s.v. χρόνος.

NET Notes: Rev 10:7

¹ tn Grk “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.”

² tn The aorist ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh) has been translated as a proleptic (futuristic) aorist (ExSyn 564 cites this verse as an example).

³ tn The time of the action described by the aorist εὐηγγέλισεν (euhngelisen) seems to be past with respect to the aorist passive ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh). This does not require that the prophets in view here be OT prophets. They may actually refer to the martyrs in the church (so G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 129).

⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

NET Notes: Rev 10:8

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn The participle λαλοῦσαν (lalousan) has been translated as “began to speak.” The use of πάλιν (palin) indicates an ingressive idea.

³ 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.”

⁴ tn Grk “again, saying.” The participle λέγουσαν (legousan) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁵ tn The perfect passive participle ἠνεῳγμένον (hnewgmenon) is in second attributive position and has been translated as an attributive adjective.

NET Notes: Rev 10:9

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the voice.

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

³ 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.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.