34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 1
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 2
35:4 Tell those who panic, 3
“Be strong! Do not fear!
Look, your God comes to avenge!
With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 4
61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,
the day when our God will seek vengeance, 5
to console all who mourn,
51:6 Get out of Babylonia quickly, you foreign people. 6
Flee to save your lives.
Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins.
For it is time for the Lord to wreak his revenge.
He will pay Babylonia 7 back for what she has done. 8
6:9 Now 13 when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed 14 because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They 15 cried out with a loud voice, 16 “How long, 17 Sovereign Master, 18 holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each 19 of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached 20 of both their fellow servants 21 and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.
6:12 Then 22 I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge 23 earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, 24 and the full moon became blood red; 25 6:13 and the stars in the sky 26 fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping 27 its unripe figs 28 when shaken by a fierce 29 wind. 6:14 The sky 30 was split apart 31 like a scroll being rolled up, 32 and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then 33 the kings of the earth, the 34 very important people, the generals, 35 the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave 36 and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They 37 said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 38 6:17 because the great day of their 39 wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” 40
18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has pronounced judgment 43 against her on your behalf!) 44
1 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
2 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
3 tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.
4 tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.
5 tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.
6 tn The words “you foreign people” are not in the text and many think the referent is the exiles of Judah. While this is clearly the case in v. 45 the referent seems broader here where the context speaks of every man going to his own country (v. 9).
7 tn Heb “her.”
8 tn Heb “paying to her a recompense [i.e., a payment in kind].”
9 tn Heb “these men.” The cleansing of Joshua and his elevation to enhanced leadership as a priest signify the coming of the messianic age.
10 sn The collocation of servant and branch gives double significance to the messianic meaning of the passage (cf. Isa 41:8, 9; 42:1, 19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; Ps 132:17; Jer 23:5; 33:15).
11 tn Or “of punishment.” This is a time of judgment.
12 tn The passive construction with the infinitive πλησθῆναι (plhsqhnai) has been translated as an active construction for simplicity, in keeping with contemporary English style.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.
14 tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
16 tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
17 tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.
18 tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).
19 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
20 tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).
21 tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
23 tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”
24 tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).
25 tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).
26 tn Or “in heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”). The genitive τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (tou ouranou) is taken as a genitive of place.
27 tn Grk “throws [off]”; the indicative verb has been translated as a participle due to English style.
28 tn L&N 3.37 states, “a fig produced late in the summer season (and often falling off before it ripens) – ‘late fig.’ ὡς συκὴ βάλλει τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου μεγάλου σειομένη ‘as the fig tree sheds its late figs when shaken by a great wind’ Re 6:13. In the only context in which ὄλυνθος occurs in the NT (Re 6:13), one may employ an expression such as ‘unripe fig’ or ‘fig which ripens late.’”
29 tn Grk “great wind.”
30 tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”
31 tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀποχωρίζω states, “ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπεχωρίσθη the sky was split Rv 6:14.” Although L&N 79.120 gives the meaning “the sky disappeared like a rolled-up scroll” here, a scroll that is rolled up does not “disappear,” and such a translation could be difficult for modern readers to understand.
32 tn On this term BDAG 317 s.v. ἑλίσσω states, “ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενον like a scroll that is rolled up…Rv 6:14.”
33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
34 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated; nor is it translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
35 tn Grk “chiliarchs.” A chiliarch was normally a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).
36 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
37 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.
38 tn It is difficult to say where this quotation ends. The translation ends it after “withstand it” at the end of v. 17, but it is possible that it should end here, after “Lamb” at the end of v. 16. If it ends after “Lamb,” v. 17 is a parenthetical explanation by the author.
39 tc Most
40 tn The translation “to withstand (it)” for ἵστημι (Jisthmi) is based on the imagery of holding one’s ground in a military campaign or an attack (BDAG 482 s.v. B.4).
41 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
42 tn Grk “seven thousand names of men.”
43 tn On the phrase “pronounced judgment” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 4.b states, “The OT is the source of the expr. κρίνειν τὸ κρ. (cp. Zech 7:9; 8:16; Ezk 44:24) ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς God has pronounced judgment for you against her or God has pronounced on her the judgment she wished to impose on you (HHoltzmann, Hdb. 1893 ad loc.) Rv 18:20.”
44 tn Grk “God has judged a judgment of you of her.” Verse 20 is set in parentheses because in it the saints, etc. are addressed directly in the second person.