5:11 Then 10 I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their 11 number was ten thousand times ten thousand 12 – thousands times thousands –
15:2 Then 20 I saw something like a sea of glass 21 mixed with fire, and those who had conquered 22 the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing 23 by 24 the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God. 25
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn Grk “twenty thousand of ten thousands.”
3 tn Grk “Here is wisdom.”
4 tn Grk “it is man’s number.” ExSyn 254 states “if ἀνθρώπου is generic, then the sense is, ‘It is [the] number of humankind.’ It is significant that this construction fits Apollonius’ Canon (i.e., both the head noun and the genitive are anarthrous), suggesting that if one of these nouns is definite, then the other is, too. Grammatically, those who contend that the sense is ‘it is [the] number of a man’ have the burden of proof on them (for they treat the head noun, ἀριθμός, as definite and the genitive, ἀνθρώπου, as indefinite – the rarest of all possibilities). In light of Johannine usage, we might also add Rev 16:18, where the Seer clearly uses the anarthrous ἄνθρωπος in a generic sense, meaning ‘humankind.’ The implications of this grammatical possibility, exegetically speaking, are simply that the number ‘666’ is the number that represents humankind. Of course, an individual is in view, but his number may be the number representing all of humankind. Thus the Seer might be suggesting here that the antichrist, who is the best representative of humanity without Christ (and the best counterfeit of a perfect man that his master, that old serpent, could muster), is still less than perfection (which would have been represented by the number seven).” See G. K. Beale, Revelation, [NIGTC], 723-24, who argues for the “generic” understanding of the noun; for an indefinite translation, see the ASV and ESV which both translate the clause as “it is the number of a man.”
5 tc A few
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.
6 tn Grk “who were sealed.”
7 tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.
8 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
8 tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
9 tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.
9 tn Grk “and that no one be able to buy or sell.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Although the ἵνα (Jina) is left untranslated, the English conjunction “thus” is used to indicate that this is a result clause.
10 tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context. In the context of buying and selling, food could be primarily in view, but the more general “things” was used in the translation because the context is not specific.
11 tn Grk “except the one who had.”
12 tn Grk “his name or the number of his name.”
11 tn Or “mislead.”
12 sn The battle with Gog and Magog is described in the OT in Ezek 38:1-39:20.
13 tn Grk “of whom the number of them [is] like the sand of the sea” (an allusion to Isa 10:22).
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
14 sn See Rev 4:6 where the sea of glass was mentioned previously.
15 tn Or “had been victorious over”; traditionally, “had overcome.”
16 tn Grk “of his name, standing.” A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”
17 tn Or “on.” The preposition ἐπί (epi) with the accusative case could mean “on, at, by, near”; given the nature of this scene appearing in a vision, it is difficult to know precisely which the author of Revelation intended. See BDAG 363 s.v. ἐπί 1.c.γ, “At, by, near someone or someth.”
18 tn Grk “harps of God.” The phrase τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of agency.