6:9 Now 1 when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed 2 because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.
1 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.
2 tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
4 tn Grk “having.”
5 sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.
6 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.
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 Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 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.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
11 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?…).”
12 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
13 tn Grk “who had authority over.” This appears to be the angel who tended the fire on the altar.
14 tn Grk “to the one having the sharp sickle”; the referent (the angel in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “Send.”
16 tn On this term BDAG 1018 s.v. τρυγάω states: “‘gather in’ ripe fruit, esp. harvest (grapes) w. acc. of the fruit (POslo. 21, 13 [71 ad]; Jos., Ant. 4, 227) Lk 6:44; Rv 14:18 (in imagery, as in the foll. places)…W. acc. of that which bears the fruit gather the fruit of the vine…or the vineyard (s. ἄμπελος a) Rv 14:19.”
17 tn On this term BDAG 181 s.v. βότρυς states, “bunch of grapes Rv 14:18…The word is also found in the Phrygian Papias of Hierapolis, in a passage in which he speaks of the enormous size of the grapes in the new aeon (in the Lat. transl. in Irenaeus 5, 33, 2f.): dena millia botruum Papias (1:2). On this see Stephan. Byz. s.v. Εὐκαρπία: Metrophanes says that in the district of Εὐκαρπία in Phrygia Minor the grapes were said to be so large that one bunch of them caused a wagon to break down in the middle.”
18 tn The genitive τῆς γῆς (ths ghs), taken symbolically, could be considered a genitive of apposition.
19 tn Or perhaps, “its bunches of grapes” (a different Greek word from the previous clause). L&N 3.38 states, “the fruit of grapevines (see 3.27) – ‘grape, bunch of grapes.’ τρύγησον τοὺς βότρυας τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἤκμασαν αἱ σταφυλαὶ αὐτῆς ‘cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth because its grapes are ripe’ Re 14:18. Some scholars have contended that βότρυς means primarily a bunch of grapes, while σταφυλή designates individual grapes. In Re 14:18 this difference might seem plausible, but there is scarcely any evidence for such a distinction, since both words may signify grapes as well as bunches of grapes.”
20 tn On the use of ἥκμασαν (hkmasan) BDAG 36 s.v. ἀκμάζω states, “to bloom…of grapes…Rv 14:18.”
21 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
22 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
23 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum
24 tn Heb “the cherub.”
25 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”