6:9 Now 8 when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed 9 because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They 10 cried out with a loud voice, 11 “How long, 12 Sovereign Master, 13 holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”
12:11 But 14 they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives 15 so much that they were afraid to die.
1 tc The shorter reading adopted here has superior ms support (א A C P 2053 al latt co), while the inclusion of “your works and” (τὰ ἔργα σου καί, ta erga sou kai) before “where you reside” is supported by the Byzantine witnesses and is evidently a secondary attempt to harmonize the passage with 2:2, 19; 3:1, 8, 15.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.
3 tn The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (kratei") has been translated as a progressive present.
4 tn Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
5 tn Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, thn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.
6 tn Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”
7 tn Grk “killed among you.” The term “city” does not occur in the Greek text of course, but the expression παρ᾿ ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ (par’ Jumin, {opou Jo satana" katoikei) seems to indicate that this is what is meant. See G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 36-38.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.
9 tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11 tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
12 tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.
13 tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
15 sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.
16 sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.
17 sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”
18 tn Grk “and approving.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
19 tn Or “outer garments.”
20 tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.