“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 6
and at the cost of your own blood 7 you have purchased 8 for God
persons 9 from every tribe, language, 10 people, and nation.
5:10 You have appointed 11 them 12 as a kingdom and priests 13 to serve 14 our God, and they will reign 15 on the earth.”
7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 16 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 17 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God, 18
to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
7:11 And all the angels stood 19 there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground 20 before the throne and worshiped God, 7:12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
7:13 Then 21 one of the elders asked 22 me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So 23 I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” 24 Then 25 he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They 26 have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve 27 him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. 28 7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, 29 7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 30
1 sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Matt 20:28 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that was deserved for sin.
2 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.”
3 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
4 sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.
5 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
6 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
7 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).”
8 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
9 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.
10 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.
11 tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.
12 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.
13 tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”
14 tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”
15 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.
16 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
17 tn Here καί (kai) has not been 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.
18 tn The dative here has been translated as a dative of possession.
19 tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.
20 tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” 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.”
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
22 tn Grk “spoke” or “declared to,” but in the context “asked” reads more naturally in English.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.
24 tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
26 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.
27 tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).
28 tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).
29 tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.
30 sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.