Genesis 49:3

49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my might and the beginning of my strength,

outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.

Isaiah 14:30

14:30 The poor will graze in my pastures; ¹ 

the needy will rest securely.

But I will kill your root by famine;

it will put to death all your survivors. ² 

Revelation 6:8

6:8 So ³  I looked ⁴  and here came ⁵  a pale green ⁶  horse! The ⁷  name of the one who rode it ⁸  was Death, and Hades followed right behind. ⁹  They ¹⁰  were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, ¹¹  famine, and disease, ¹²  and by the wild animals of the earth.

¹ tc The Hebrew text has, “the firstborn of the poor will graze.” “Firstborn” may be used here in an idiomatic sense to indicate the very poorest of the poor. See BDB 114 s.v. בְּכוֹר. The translation above assumes an emendation of בְּכוֹרֵי (bÿkhorey, “firstborn of”) to בְּכָרַי (bekharay, “in my pastures”).

² tn Heb “your remnant” (so NAB, NRSV).

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the fourth creature.

⁴ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

⁵ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

⁶ tn A sickly pallor, when referring to persons, or the green color of plants. BDAG 1085 s.v. χλωρός 2 states, “pale, greenish gray…as the color of a pers. in sickness contrasted with appearance in health…so the horse ridden by Death…ἵππος χλωρός Rv 6:8.” Because the color of the horse is symbolic, “pale green” is used in the translation. Cf. NIV, NCV “pale”; NASB “ashen.”

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁸ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

⁹ tn Grk “And Hades was following with him.” The Greek expression μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ (met’ autou, “with him”) is Semitic and indicates close proximity. The translation “followed right behind” reflects this.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

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

¹² tn Grk “with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).