Text -- Revelation 8:1-13 (NET)

The Seventh Seal

8:1 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 8:3 Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A 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. 8:4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 8:6 Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 8:7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 8:8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, 8:9 and a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed. 8:10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; it landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 8:11 (Now the name of the star is Wormwood.) So a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned. 8:12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day and for a third of the night likewise. 8:13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly overhead, 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!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 8:1

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the resumption of the topic of the seals.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the Lamb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Rev 8:2

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

NET Notes: Rev 8:3

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

² tn Grk “having.”

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

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

NET Notes: Rev 8:4

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

² tn The expression τῶν θυμιαμάτων (twn qumiamatwn) is taken as a “genitive of producer,” i.e., the noun in the genitive produces the head noun.

NET Notes: Rev 8:5

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

² 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?…).”

NET Notes: Rev 8:6

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

² tn Grk “having.”

NET Notes: Rev 8:7

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

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” because what follows has the logical force of a result clause.

NET Notes: Rev 8:8

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

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

NET Notes: Rev 8:9

¹ tn Or “a third of the living creatures in the sea”; Grk “the third of the creatures which were in the sea, the ones having life.”

² tn On the term translated “completely destroyed,” L&N 20.40 states, “to cause the complete destruction of someone or something – ‘to destroy utterly.’ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθάρησαν ‘a third of the ships were completely destroyed’ Re 8:9.”

NET Notes: Rev 8:10

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

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

³ tn Grk “fell.”

NET Notes: Rev 8:11

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” in keeping with the parenthetical nature of this remark.

² tn Grk “is called,” but this is somewhat redundant in contemporary English.

³ sn Wormwood refers to a particularly bitter herb with medicinal value. According to L&N 3.21, “The English term wormwood is derived from the use of the plant as a medicine to kill intestinal worms.” This remark about the star’s name is parenthetical in nature.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the star falling on the waters.

⁵ tn That is, terribly bitter (see the note on “Wormwood” earlier in this verse).

⁶ tn Grk “and many of the men died from these waters because they were bitter.”

NET Notes: Rev 8:12

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

² tn Grk “the day did not shine [with respect to] the third of it.”

NET Notes: Rev 8:13

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

² tn Grk “one eagle.”

³ 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.

⁴ 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.”

⁵ tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.