Revelation 1:12

1:12 I ¹  turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, ²  and when I did so, ³  I saw seven golden lampstands,

Revelation 5:8

5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ⁴  before the Lamb. Each ⁵  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ⁶ 

Revelation 15:6-7

15:6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean bright linen, wearing wide golden belts ⁷  around their chests. 15:7 Then ⁸  one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath ⁹  of God who lives forever and ever,

Revelation 1:20

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹⁰  The seven stars are the angels ¹¹  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

¹ 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.

² 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.”

³ tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrefw) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.

⁴ 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.”

⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁶ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

⁷ tn Or “wide golden sashes,” but these would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹¹ tn Or “anger.”

¹³ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”