3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus 7 for the sake of you Gentiles –
1:1 From Paul, 12 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], 13 the faithful 14 in Christ Jesus.
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 18
and at the cost of your own blood 19 you have purchased 20 for God
persons 21 from every tribe, language, 22 people, and nation.
5:10 You have appointed 23 them 24 as a kingdom and priests 25 to serve 26 our God, and they will reign 27 on the earth.”
5:11 Then 28 I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their 29 number was ten thousand times ten thousand 30 – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom 31 were singing 32 in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the lamb who was killed 33
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and praise!”
5:13 Then 34 I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: 35
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power 36 forever and ever!”
5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground 37 and worshiped.
19:1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
19:2 because his judgments are true and just. 38
For he has judged 39 the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,
and has avenged the blood of his servants 40 poured out by her own hands!” 41
19:3 Then 42 a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. 43 19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground 44 and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: “Amen! Hallelujah!”
19:5 Then 45 a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God
all you his servants,
and all you who fear Him,
both the small and the great!”
19:6 Then 46 I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting: 47
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God, 48 the All-Powerful, 49 reigns!
1 tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.
2 tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.
3 tn Or “who had already hoped.”
4 tn Or “the Messiah.”
5 tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.
6 tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”
7 tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine
8 tn The words “I pray” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning; v. 17 is a subordinate clause to v. 16 (“I pray” in v. 17 is implied from v. 16). Eph 1:15-23 constitutes one sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation in light of contemporary English usage.
9 tn Or “glorious Father.” The genitive phrase “of glory” is most likely an attributive genitive. The literal translation “Father of glory” has been retained because of the parallelism with the first line of the verse: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.”
10 tn Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.” (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation. (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous. (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent.
11 tn Grk “in the knowledge of him.”
12 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
13 tc The earliest and most important
14 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style [and even if this letter is not by Paul it follows the general style of Paul’s letters, with some modifications]) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated. See M. Barth, Ephesians (AB 34), 1:68 and ExSyn 282.
15 tn Or “who had already hoped.”
16 tn Or “the Messiah.”
17 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
18 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
19 tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”
20 tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few
21 tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
22 tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
23 tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.
24 tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vgcl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.
25 tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”
26 tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”
27 tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 ÏK pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 ÏA pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.
28 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
29 tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
30 tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.
31 tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.
32 tn Grk “saying.”
33 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
35 tn Grk “saying.”
36 tn Or “dominion.”
37 tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
38 tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.
39 tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.
40 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
41 tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).
42 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
43 tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”
44 tn Grk “creatures fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
45 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
46 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
47 tn Grk “like the voice of a large crowd…saying.” Because of the complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”
48 tc Several
49 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22…κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ π. Rv 19:6.”