10:21 On that same occasion 14 Jesus 15 rejoiced 16 in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise 17 you, Father, Lord 18 of heaven and earth, because 19 you have hidden these things from the wise 20 and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. 21
5:6 Then 30 I saw standing in the middle of the throne 31 and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. 32 He had 33 seven horns and seven eyes, which 34 are the seven 35 spirits of God 36 sent out into all the earth. 5:7 Then 37 he came and took the scroll 38 from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne, 5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground 39 before the Lamb. Each 40 of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). 41 5:9 They were singing a new song: 42
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 43
and at the cost of your own blood 44 you have purchased 45 for God
persons 46 from every tribe, language, 47 people, and nation.
1 tc The textual problem μονογενὴς θεός (monogenh" qeo", “the only God”) versus ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός (Jo monogenh" Juio", “the only son”) is a notoriously difficult one. Only one letter would have differentiated the readings in the
2 tn Grk “in the bosom of” (an idiom for closeness or nearness; cf. L&N 34.18; BDAG 556 s.v. κόλπος 1).
3 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 sn Has made God known. In this final verse of the prologue, the climactic and ultimate statement of the earthly career of the Logos, Jesus of Nazareth, is reached. The unique One (John 1:14), the One who has taken on human form and nature by becoming incarnate (became flesh, 1:14), who is himself fully God (the Word was God, 1:1c) and is to be identified with the ever-living One of the Old Testament revelation (Exod 3:14), who is in intimate relationship with the Father, this One and no other has fully revealed what God is like. As Jesus said to Philip in John 14:9, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”
5 tn Grk “this one.”
6 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Although some would attribute these words to Jesus himself, the switch from first person in Jesus’ preceding and following remarks to third person in v. 46 suggests that the author has added a clarifying comment here.
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.
8 tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”
9 tn Grk “I keep.”
10 tn Grk “his word.”
11 tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more general term like “people” because the use of the aorist verb ἔγνωσαν (egnwsan) implies that Jesus is referring to the disciples present with him as he spoke these words (presumably all of them men in the historical context), rather than to those who are yet to believe because of their testimony (see John 17:20).
12 sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.
13 tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.
14 tn Grk “In that same hour” (L&N 67.1).
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.
17 tn Or “thank.”
18 sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.
19 tn Or “that.”
20 sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.
21 tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of no one being found worthy to open the scroll.
24 tn Grk “much.”
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
26 tn Grk “says” (a historical present).
27 tn The present imperative with μή (mh) is used here to command cessation of an action in progress (ExSyn 724 lists this verse as an example).
28 tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”
29 tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.
30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
31 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
32 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.” The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. This phrase does not imply that the Lamb “appeared to have been killed” but in reality was not, because the wider context of the NT shows that in fact the Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed. See 13:3 for the only other occurrence of this phrase in the NT.
33 tn Grk “killed, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
34 sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.
35 tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; Ì24 א 2053 2351 ÏK). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 ÏA pc). It may have been accidentally added due to its repeated presence in the immediately preceding phrases, or it may have been intentionally added to maintain the symmetry of the phrases or more likely to harmonize the phrase with 1:4; 3:1; 4:5. Or it may have been accidentally deleted by way of homoioteleuton (τὰ ἑπτά, ta Jepta). A decision is difficult in this instance. NA27 also does not find the problem easy to solve, placing the word in brackets to indicate doubts as to its authenticity.
36 sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.
37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
38 tn The words “the scroll” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
39 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.”
40 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
41 sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.
42 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
43 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
44 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).”
45 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
46 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.
47 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.