16:10 Then 1 the fifth angel 2 poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that 3 darkness covered his kingdom, 4 and people 5 began to bite 6 their tongues because 7 of their pain. 16:11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings 8 and because of their sores, 9 but nevertheless 10 they still refused to repent 11 of their deeds.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
2 tn Grk “the fifth”; the referent (the fifth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” to indicate the implied result of the fifth bowl being poured out.
4 tn Grk “his kingdom became dark.”
5 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.
6 tn On this term BDAG 620 s.v. μασάομαι states, “bite w. acc. τὰς γλώσσας bite their tongues Rv 16:10.”
7 tn The preposition ἐκ (ek) has been translated here and twice in the following verse with a causal sense.
8 tn Grk “pains” (the same term in Greek [πόνος, ponos] as the last word in v. 11, here translated “sufferings” because it is plural). BDAG 852 s.v. 2 states, “ἐκ τοῦ π. in pain…Rv 16:10; pl. (Gen 41:51; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 146; Test. Jud. 18:4) ἐκ τῶν π. …because of their sufferings vs. 11.”
9 tn Or “ulcerated sores” (see 16:2).
10 tn Grk “and they did not repent.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but nevertheless” to express the contrast here.
11 tn Grk “they did not repent” The addition of “still refused” reflects the hardness of people’s hearts in the context.
12 tn Here BDAG 988 s.v. ταλαντιαῖος states, “weighing a talent…χάλαζα μεγάλη ὡς ταλαντιαία a severe hailstorm with hailstones weighing a talent (the talent=125 librae, or Roman pounds of c. 343 gr. or 12 ounces each) (weighing about a hundred pounds NRSV) Rv 16:21.” This means each hailstone would weigh just under 100 pounds or 40 kilograms.
13 tn Or “the sky.” Due to the apocalyptic nature of this book, it is probably best to leave the translation as “from heaven,” since God is ultimately the source of the judgment.
14 tn Grk “on men,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense to refer to people in general (the hailstones did not single out adult males, but would have also fallen on women and children).
15 tn Grk “the men”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun “they” is used here.
16 tn Grk “the plague of it.”
17 tn Grk “since the plague of it was exceedingly great.”