Revelation 1:12

1:12 I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, and when I did so, I saw seven golden lampstands,

Revelation 22:12

22:12 (Look! I am coming soon,

and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!

Revelation 3:4

3:4 But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy.

Revelation 21:15

21:15 The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall.

Revelation 2:20

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman 10  Jezebel, 11  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives 12  my servants 13  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 14 

Revelation 3:18

3:18 take my advice 15  and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me 16  white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness 17  will not be exposed, and buy eye salve 18  to put on your eyes so you can see!

Revelation 3:20-21

3:20 Listen! 19  I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home 20  and share a meal with him, and he with me. 3:21 I will grant the one 21  who conquers 22  permission 23  to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered 24  and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then 25  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. 26  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment 27  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Revelation 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was 28  a door standing open in heaven! 29  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me 30  like a trumpet 31  said: “Come up here so that 32  I can show you what must happen after these things.”

Revelation 10:8

10:8 Then 33  the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak 34  to me 35  again, 36  “Go and take the open 37  scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

Revelation 21:9

The New Jerusalem Descends

21:9 Then 38  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, 39  saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!”


tn Throughout the translation John’s use of καί (kai) often reflects the varied usage of the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav). A clause which καί introduces has been translated in terms of its semantic relationship to the clause that preceded it. If the καί seemed redundant, however, it was left untranslated; that is the case in this verse.

tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrefw) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.

tn The Greek term may be translated either “pay” or “pay back” and has something of a double meaning here. However, because of the mention of “wages” (“reward,” another wordplay with two meanings) in the previous clause, the translation “pay” for ἀποδοῦναι (apodounai) was used here.

tn Grk “a few names”; here ὄνομα (onoma) is used by figurative extension to mean “person” or “people”; according to L&N 9.19 there is “the possible implication of existence or relevance as individuals.”

tn Or “soiled” (so NAB, NRSV, NIV); NCV “have kept their clothes unstained”; CEV “have not dirtied your clothes with sin.”

tn The word “dressed” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

10 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the angel of v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

13 tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

14 tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 ÏK pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì47 (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

15 sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

16 tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

17 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

18 sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

16 tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”

17 tn Grk “rich, and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, repeating the words “Buy from me” to make the connection clear for the English reader.

18 tn Grk “the shame of the nakedness of you,” which has been translated as an attributed genitive like καινότητι ζωῆς (kainothti zwh") in Rom 6:4 (ExSyn 89-90).

19 sn The city of Laodicea had a famous medical school and exported a powder (called a “Phrygian powder”) that was widely used as an eye salve. It was applied to the eyes in the form of a paste the consistency of dough (the Greek term for the salve here, κολλούριον, kollourion [Latin collyrium], is a diminutive form of the word for a long roll of bread).

19 tn Grk “Behold.”

20 tn Grk “come in to him.”

22 tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”

23 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

24 tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”

25 tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”

25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

26 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

27 tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

28 tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

29 tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

30 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

31 sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

32 tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.

31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

32 tn The participle λαλοῦσαν (lalousan) has been translated as “began to speak.” The use of πάλιν (palin) indicates an ingressive idea.

33 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

34 tn Grk “again, saying.” The participle λέγουσαν (legousan) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

35 tn The perfect passive participle ἠνεῳγμένον (hnewgmenon) is in second attributive position and has been translated as an attributive adjective.

34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

35 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.