Text -- Revelation 4:1-4 (NET)

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: “Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things.” 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it! 4:3 And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne. 4:4 In a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns on their heads.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 4:1

¹ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

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 sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

⁵ tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.

NET Notes: Rev 4:2

¹ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

² tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

³ tn BDAG 537 s.v. κεῖμαι 2 gives the translation “stand” for the term in this verse.

NET Notes: Rev 4:3

¹ tn Grk “jasper stone.”

sn Jasper was a semiprecious gemstone, probably green in color (L&N 2.30).

² sn Carnelian was a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).

³ tn Or “a rainbow emerald-like in appearance.”

NET Notes: Rev 4:4

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were” to indicate the connection to the preceding material.

³ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.