7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and glorify 39 your name, because you alone are holy? 40
All nations 41 will come and worship before you
for your righteous acts 42 have been revealed.”
18:14 (The ripe fruit 46 you greatly desired 47
has gone from you,
and all your luxury 48 and splendor 49
have gone from you –
they will never ever be found again!) 50
18:21 Then 51 one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force 52
Babylon the great city will be thrown down 53
and it will never be found again!
1 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
2 tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.
3 tn Or “who overcomes.”
4 tn Grk “thus.”
5 tn Or “white robes.”
6 tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek.
7 tn Or “will never wipe out.”
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
9 tn Grk “will confess.”
5 tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”
6 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.
7 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).
8 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).
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
8 tn Grk “says” (a historical present).
9 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).
10 tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”
11 tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
10 tn BDAG 1086 s.v. χοῖνιξ states, “a dry measure, oft. used for grain, approximately equivalent to one quart or one liter, quart. A χ.of grain was a daily ration for one pers.…Rv 6:6ab.”
11 tn Grk “a quart of wheat for a denarius.” A denarius was one day’s pay for an average worker. The words “will cost” are used to indicate the genitive of price or value; otherwise the English reader could understand the phrase to mean “a quart of wheat to be given as a day’s pay.”
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
12 tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
14 tn The phrase “not be able to” was used in the translation to emphasize the strong negation (οὐ μή, ou mh) in the Greek text.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
14 tn The words “just then” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
16 tn On the term αὐλήν (aulhn) BDAG 150 s.v. αὐλή 1 states, “(outer) court of the temple…Rv 11:2.”
17 tn The precise meaning of the phrase ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν (ekbale exwqen) is difficult to determine.
18 tn Or “to the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
19 sn The holy city appears to be a reference to Jerusalem. See also Luke 21:24.
17 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the second beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Grk “it was given [permitted] to it [the second beast].”
19 tn Grk “breath,” but in context the point is that the image of the first beast is made to come to life and speak.
20 tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.
19 tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.
21 tn Or “and praise.”
22 sn Because you alone are holy. In the Greek text the sentence literally reads “because alone holy.” Three points can be made in connection with John’s language here: (1) Omitting the second person, singular verb “you are” lays stress on the attribute of God’s holiness. (2) The juxtaposition of alone with holy stresses the unique nature of God’s holiness and complete “otherness” in relationship to his creation. It is not just moral purity which is involved in the use of the term holy, though it certainly includes that. It is also the pervasive OT idea that although God is deeply involved in the governing of his creation, he is to be regarded as separate and distinct from it. (3) John’s use of the term holy is also intriguing since it is the term ὅσιος (Josios) and not the more common NT term ἅγιος (Jagios). The former term evokes images of Christ’s messianic status in early Christian preaching. Both Peter in Acts 2:27 and Paul in Acts 13:35 apply Psalm 16:10 (LXX) to Jesus, referring to him as the “holy one” (ὅσιος). It is also the key term in Acts 13:34 (Isa 55:3 [LXX]) where it refers to the “holy blessings” (i.e., forgiveness and justification) brought about through Jesus in fulfillment of Davidic promise. Thus, in Rev 15:3-4, when John refers to God as “holy,” using the term ὅσιος in a context where the emphasis is on both God and Christ, there might be an implicit connection between divinity and the Messiah. This is bolstered by the fact that the Lamb is referred to in other contexts as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (cf. 1:5; 17:14; 19:16 and perhaps 11:15; G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 796-97).
23 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
24 tn Or perhaps, “your sentences of condemnation.” On δικαίωμα (dikaiwma) in this context BDAG 249 s.v. 2. states, “righteous deed…δι᾿ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος (opp. παράπτωμα) Ro 5:18. – B 1:2 (cp. Wengst, Barnabas-brief 196, n.4); Rv 15:4 (here perh.= ‘sentence of condemnation’ [cp. Pla., Leg. 9, 864e; ins fr. Asia Minor: LBW 41, 2 [κατὰ] τὸ δι[καί]ωμα τὸ κυρω[θέν]= ‘acc. to the sentence which has become valid’]; difft. Wengst, s. above); 19:8.”
23 tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).
24 tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”
25 tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.
25 tn On ὀπώρα (opwra) L&N 3.34 states, “ἡ ὀπώρα σου τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ψυχῆς ‘the ripe fruit for which you longed’ Re 18:14. In this one occurrence of ὀπώρα in the NT, ‘ripe fruit’ is to be understood in a figurative sense of ‘good things.’”
26 tn Grk “you desired in your soul.”
27 tn On λιπαρός (liparo") BDAG 597 s.v. states, “luxury Rv 18:14.”
28 tn On τὰ λαμπρά (ta lampra) BDAG 585 s.v. λαμπρός 4 states, “splendor…in which a rich man takes delight (cp. Jos., Ant. 12, 220 δωρεὰς δοὺς λαμπράς) Rv 18:14.”
29 tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person.
27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
28 tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.
29 sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.
29 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
31 tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.
31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
32 tn On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή ({ora mh) BDAG 720 s.v. ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically…ὅρα μή (sc. ποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”
33 tn Grk “fellow slave.” Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) is here 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.
34 tn Grk “keep” (an idiom for obedience).