18:1 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance. 3
20:1 Then 4 I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding 5 in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.
1 tn Or “a third of the living creatures in the sea”; Grk “the third of the creatures which were in the sea, the ones having life.”
2 tn On the term translated “completely destroyed,” L&N 20.40 states, “to cause the complete destruction of someone or something – ‘to destroy utterly.’ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθάρησαν ‘a third of the ships were completely destroyed’ Re 8:9.”
3 tn Grk “glory”; but often in the sense of splendor, brightness, or radiance (see L&N 14.49).
5 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
6 tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.