Daniel 12:4

12:4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, ¹  and knowledge will increase.”

Daniel 12:9

12:9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.

Matthew 11:25

Jesus’ Invitation

11:25 At that time Jesus said, ²  “I praise ³  you, Father, Lord ⁴  of heaven and earth, because ⁵  you have hidden these things from the wise ⁶  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.

Matthew 13:11

13:11 He replied, ⁷  “You have been given ⁸  the opportunity to know ⁹  the secrets ¹⁰  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Matthew 16:17

16:17 And Jesus answered him, ¹¹  “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood ¹²  did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!

Revelation 5:1-9

The Opening of the Scroll

5:1 Then ¹³  I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the front and back ¹⁴  and sealed with seven seals. ¹⁵  5:2 And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 5:3 But ¹⁶  no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. 5:4 So ¹⁷  I began weeping bitterly ¹⁸  because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5:5 Then ¹⁹  one of the elders said ²⁰  to me, “Stop weeping! ²¹  Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; ²²  thus he can open ²³  the scroll and its seven seals.”

5:6 Then ²⁴  I saw standing in the middle of the throne ²⁵  and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. ²⁶  He had ²⁷  seven horns and seven eyes, which ²⁸  are the seven ²⁹  spirits of God ³⁰  sent out into all the earth. 5:7 Then ³¹  he came and took the scroll ³²  from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne, 5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ³³  before the Lamb. Each ³⁴  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ³⁵  5:9 They were singing a new song: ³⁶ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ³⁷ 

and at the cost of your own blood ³⁸  you have purchased ³⁹  for God

persons ⁴⁰  from every tribe, language, ⁴¹  people, and nation.

Revelation 6:1

The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, ⁴²  “Come!” ⁴³ 

[12:4]  ¹ tn Or “will run back and forth”; KJV “shall run to and fro”; NIV “will go here and there”; CEV “will go everywhere.”

[11:25]  ² tn Grk “At that time, answering, Jesus said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:25]  ³ tn Or “thank.”

[11:25]  ⁴ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[11:25]  ⁵ tn Or “that.”

[11:25]  ⁶ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[13:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ⁸ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[16:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.

[16:17]  ¹² tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “written on the inside and the outside” (an idiom for having writing on both sides).

[5:1]  ¹⁵ tn L&N 6.55 states, “From the immediate context of Re 5:1 it is not possible to determine whether the scroll in question had seven seals on the outside or whether the scroll was sealed at seven different points. However, since according to chapter six of Revelation the seals were broken one after another, it would appear as though the scroll had been sealed at seven different places as it had been rolled up.”

[5:3]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[5:4]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of no one being found worthy to open the scroll.

[5:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “much.”

[5:5]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[5:5]  ²¹ tn The present imperative with μή (mh) is used here to command cessation of an action in progress (ExSyn 724 lists this verse as an example).

[5:5]  ²² tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”

[5:5]  ²³ tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.

[5:6]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:6]  ²⁵ tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).

[5:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.” The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. This phrase does not imply that the Lamb “appeared to have been killed” but in reality was not, because the wider context of the NT shows that in fact the Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed. See 13:3 for the only other occurrence of this phrase in the NT.

[5:6]  ²⁷ tn Grk “killed, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

[5:6]  ²⁸ sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.

[5:6]  ²⁹ tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; ̲⁴ א 2053 2351 Ï^K). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 Ï^A pc). It may have been accidentally added due to its repeated presence in the immediately preceding phrases, or it may have been intentionally added to maintain the symmetry of the phrases or more likely to harmonize the phrase with 1:4; 3:1; 4:5. Or it may have been accidentally deleted by way of homoioteleuton (τὰ ἑπτά, ta Jepta). A decision is difficult in this instance. NA²⁷ also does not find the problem easy to solve, placing the word in brackets to indicate doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:6]  ³⁰ sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.

[5:7]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:7]  ³² tn The words “the scroll” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:8]  ³³ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[5:8]  ³⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:8]  ³⁵ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

[5:9]  ³⁶ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ³⁸ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ³⁹ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and language,” but 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.

[6:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “saying like a voice [or sound] of thunder.”

[6:1]  ⁴³ tc The addition of “and see” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) to “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1, 3-5, 7 is a gloss directed to John, i.e., “come and look at the seals and the horsemen!” But the command ἔρχου is better interpreted as directed to each of the horsemen. The shorter reading also has the support of the better witnesses.