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. 7:2 Then 3 I saw another angel ascending from the east, 4 who had 5 the seal 6 of the living God. He 7 shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission 8 to damage the earth and the sea: 9
9:13 Then 25 the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice coming from the 26 horns on the golden altar that is before God, 9:14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding 27 the trumpet, “Set free 28 the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!”
14:14 Then 29 I looked, and a white cloud appeared, 30 and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man! 31 He had 32 a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 14:15 Then 33 another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use 34 your sickle and start to reap, 35 because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!”
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
2 tn On this phrase see BDAG 1092 s.v. χρόνος.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
4 tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12…simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”
5 tn Grk “having,” but v. 3 makes it clear that the angel’s purpose is to seal others with the seal he carries.
6 tn Or “signet” (L&N 6.54).
7 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.
8 tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “to whom it was given to them to damage the earth.”
9 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
12 tn Grk “having.”
13 sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.
14 tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.
15 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.
16 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
17 tn The expression τῶν θυμιαμάτων (twn qumiamatwn) is taken as a “genitive of producer,” i.e., the noun in the genitive produces the head noun.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
19 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
21 tn Grk “one eagle.”
22 tc ÏA reads “angel” (ἀγγέλου, angelou) instead of “eagle” (ἀετοῦ, aetou), a reading strongly supported by {א A 046 ÏK and several versions}. On external grounds, ἀετοῦ is clearly the superior reading. ἀγγέλου could have arisen inadvertently due to similarities in spelling or sound between ἀετοῦ and ἀγγέλου. It may also have been intentional in order to bring this statement in line with 14:6 where an angel is mentioned as the one flying in midair. This seems a more likely reason, strengthened by the facts that the book only mentions eagles two other times (4:7; 12:14). Further, the immediate as well as broad context is replete with references to angels.
23 tn Concerning the word μεσουράνημα (mesouranhma), L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’ εἶδον, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἁετοῦ πετομένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι ‘I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying overhead in the sky’ Re 8:13.”
24 tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
26 tc ‡ Several key
27 tn Grk “having.”
28 tn On λῦσον (luson) BDAG 606-7 s.v. λύω 2 states, “set free, loose, untie – a. lit. a pers., animal, or thing that is bound or tied…Angels that are bound Rv 9:14f.”
29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
30 tn Grk “and behold, a white cloud.”
31 tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).
32 tn Grk “like a son of man, having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence.
33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
34 tn Grk “Send out.”
35 tn The aorist θέρισον (qerison) has been translated ingressively.