Matthew 13:20-22

13:20 The ¹  seed sown on rocky ground ²  is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; ³  when ⁴  trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 13:22 The ⁵  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ⁶  choke the word, ⁷  so it produces nothing.

Psalms 81:11-12

81:11 But my people did not obey me; ⁸ 

Israel did not submit to me. ⁹ 

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ¹⁰ 

they did what seemed right to them. ¹¹ 

Hosea 7:6

7:6 They approach him, all the while plotting against him.

Their hearts are like an oven;

their anger smolders all night long,

but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.

John 12:6

12:6 (Now Judas ¹²  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ¹³  he used to steal what was put into it.) ¹⁴ 

John 13:2

13:2 The evening meal ¹⁵  was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart ¹⁶  of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray ¹⁷  Jesus. ¹⁸ 

Acts 5:1-3

The Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira

5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 5:2 He ¹⁹  kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought ²⁰  only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled ²¹  your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of ²²  the land?

Acts 8:18-23

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit ²³  was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power ²⁴  too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ²⁵  because you thought you could acquire ²⁶  God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part ²⁷  in this matter ²⁸  because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ²⁹  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ³⁰  8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious ³¹  and in bondage to sin.”

Acts 8:1

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ³²  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ³³  persecution began ³⁴  against the church in Jerusalem, ³⁵  and all ³⁶  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ³⁷  of Judea and Samaria.

Colossians 1:19

1:19 For God ³⁸  was pleased to have all his ³⁹  fullness dwell ⁴⁰  in the Son ⁴¹ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴²  brothers and sisters ⁴³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴⁴  from God our Father! ⁴⁵ 

Colossians 2:9-12

2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives ⁴⁶  in bodily form, 2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ⁴⁷  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ⁴⁸  of the fleshly body, ⁴⁹  that is, ⁵⁰  through the circumcision done by Christ. 2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ⁵¹  faith in the power ⁵²  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ⁵³  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ⁵⁴ 

Colossians 1:4-5

1:4 since ⁵⁵  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁵⁶  from the hope laid up ⁵⁷  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁵⁸ 

Colossians 1:9-10

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ⁵⁹  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ⁶⁰  to fill ⁶¹  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live ⁶²  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁶³  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁶⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:19

2:19 He has not held fast ⁶⁵  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ⁶⁶  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ⁶⁷ 

Jude 1:4-5

1:4 For certain men ⁶⁸  have secretly slipped in among you ⁶⁹  – men who long ago ⁷⁰  were marked out ⁷¹  for the condemnation I am about to describe ⁷²  – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil ⁷³  and who deny our only Master ⁷⁴  and Lord, ⁷⁵  Jesus Christ.

1:5 Now I desire to remind you (even though you have been fully informed of these facts ⁷⁶  once for all ⁷⁷ ) that Jesus, ⁷⁸  having saved the ⁷⁹  people out of the land of Egypt, later ⁸⁰  destroyed those who did not believe.

Revelation 13:3-4

13:3 One of the beast’s ⁸¹  heads appeared to have been killed, ⁸²  but the lethal wound had been healed. ⁸³  And the whole world followed ⁸⁴  the beast in amazement; 13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority ⁸⁵  to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” ⁸⁶ 

Revelation 13:8-9

13:8 and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, ⁸⁷  everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world ⁸⁸  in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed. ⁸⁹  13:9 If anyone has an ear, he had better listen!

[13:20]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:20]  ² tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.

[13:21]  ³ tn Grk “is temporary.”

[13:21]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:22]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[13:22]  ⁷ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[81:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “did not listen to my voice.”

[81:11]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).

[81:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[12:6]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.

[12:6]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.

[13:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Supper.” To avoid possible confusion because of different regional English usage regarding the distinction between “dinner” and “supper” as an evening meal, the translation simply refers to “the evening meal.”

[13:2]  ¹⁶ sn At this point the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 365) thought this was a reference to the idea entering the devil’s own heart, but this does not seem likely. It is more probable that Judas’ heart is meant, since the use of the Greek article (rather than a possessive pronoun) is a typical idiom when a part of one’s own body is indicated. Judas’ name is withheld until the end of the sentence for dramatic effect (emphasis). This action must be read in light of 13:27, and appears to refer to a preliminary idea or plan.

[13:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “that he should hand over.”

[13:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “betray him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[5:2]  ²⁰ tn The participle ἐνέγκας (enenka") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[5:3]  ²¹ sn This is a good example of the Greek verb fill (πληρόω, plhrow) meaning “to exercise control over someone’s thought and action” (cf. Eph 5:18).

[5:3]  ²² tn The words “from the sale of” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the meaning, since the phrase “proceeds from the land” could possibly be understood as crops rather than money from the sale.

[8:18]  ²³ tc Most witnesses (Ì^45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key mss have simply τὸ πνεῦμα (א A^c B sa mae). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted τὸ ἅγιον because of its perceived superfluity (note vv. 15, 17, 19), it is far more likely that others added the adjective out of pious motives.

[8:19]  ²⁴ tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”

[8:20]  ²⁵ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ²⁶ tn Or “obtain.”

[8:21]  ²⁷ tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.

[8:21]  ²⁸ tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.

[8:22]  ²⁹ tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ³⁰ tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.

[8:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself. The literal phrase does not convey this to the modern reader, and in fact some modern translations have simply rendered the phrase as involving bitterness, which misses the point of the envy on Simon’s part. See L&N 88.166. The OT images come from Deut 29:17-18 and Isa 58:6.

[8:1]  ³² tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ³³ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ³⁶ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “countryside.”

[1:19]  ³⁸ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ³⁹ tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ⁴⁰ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[2:9]  ⁴⁶ sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.

[2:11]  ⁴⁷ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ⁴⁸ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ⁵⁰ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.

[2:12]  ⁵¹ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ⁵² tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[2:1]  ⁵³ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:4]  ⁵⁵ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁵⁸ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ⁶⁰ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁶¹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[1:10]  ⁶² tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁶³ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:19]  ⁶⁵ tn The Greek participle κρατῶν (kratwn) was translated as a finite verb to avoid an unusually long and pedantic sentence structure in English.

[2:19]  ⁶⁶ tn See BDAG 387 s.v. ἐπιχορηγέω 3.

[2:19]  ⁶⁷ tn The genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of source, “from God.”

[1:4]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “people.” However, if Jude is indeed arguing that Peter’s prophecy about false teachers has come true, these are most likely men in the original historical and cultural setting. See discussion of this point in the note on the phrase “these men” in 2 Pet 2:12.

[1:4]  ⁶⁹ tn “Among you” is not in the Greek text, but is obviously implied.

[1:4]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “in the past.” The adverb πάλαι (palai) can refer to either, though the meaning “long ago” is more common.

[1:4]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “written about.”

[1:4]  ⁷² tn Grk “for this condemnation.” τοῦτο (touto) is almost surely a kataphoric demonstrative pronoun, pointing to what follows in vv. 5-18. Otherwise, the condemnation is only implied (in v. 3b) or is merely a statement of their sinfulness (“ungodly” in v. 4b), not a judgment of it.

[1:4]  ⁷³ tn Grk “debauchery.” This is the same word Peter uses to predict what the false teachers will be like (2 Pet 2:2, 7, 18).

[1:4]  ⁷⁴ tc Most later witnesses (P Ψ Ï sy) have θεόν (qeon, “God”) after δεσπότην (despothn, “master”), which appears to be a motivated reading in that it explicitly links “Master” to “God” in keeping with the normal NT pattern (see Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Tim 2:21; Rev 6:10). In patristic Greek, δεσπότης (despoth") was used especially of God (cf. BDAG 220 s.v. 1.b.). The earlier and better witnesses (Ì^72,78 א A B C 0251 33 81 323 1241 1739 al co) lack θεόν; the shorter reading is thus preferred on both internal and external grounds.

[1:4]  ⁷⁵ tn The terms “Master and Lord” both refer to the same person. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. For more discussion see ExSyn 270-78. See also Titus 2:13 and 2 Pet 1:1

[1:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “knowing all things.” The subject of the participle “knowing” (εἰδότας, eidota") is an implied ὑμᾶς (Jumas), though several ancient witnesses actually add it. The πάντα (panta) takes on an adverbial force in this context (“fully”), intensifying how acquainted the readers are with the following points.

[1:5]  ⁷⁷ tc ‡ Some translations take ἅπαξ (Japax) with the following clause (thus, “[Jesus,] having saved the people once for all”). Such a translation presupposes that ἅπαξ is a part of the ὅτι (Joti) clause. The reading of NA²⁷, πάντα ὅτι [ὁ] κύριος ἅπαξ (panta {oti [Jo] kurio" {apax), suggests this interpretation (though with “Lord” instead of “Jesus”). This particle is found before λαόν (laon) in the ὅτι clause in א C* Ψ 630 1241 1243 1505 1739 1846 1881 pc co. But ἅπαξ is found before the ὅτι clause in most witnesses, including several important ones (Ì⁷² A B C² 33 81 623 2344 Ï vg). What seems best able to explain the various placements of the adverb is that scribes were uncomfortable with ἅπαξ referring to the readers’ knowledge, feeling it was more appropriate to the theological significance of “saved” (σώσας, swsas).

[1:5]  ⁷⁸ tc ‡ The reading ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses (e.g., A B 33 81 1241 1739 1881 2344 pc vg co Or^1739mg), but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) or θεός (qeos, “God”) for ᾿Ιησοῦς (though Ì⁷² has the intriguing reading θεὸς Χριστός [qeos Cristos, “God Christ”] for ᾿Ιησοῦς). In addition to the evidence supplied in NA²⁷ for this reading, note also {88 322 323 424^c 665 915 2298 eth Cyr Hier Bede}. As difficult as the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is, in light of v. 4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate.

[1:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Or perhaps “a,” though this is less likely.

[1:5]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “the second time.”

[13:3]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “one of its heads”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:3]  ⁸² tn Grk “killed to death,” an expression emphatic in its redundancy. 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. In this instance, the appearance of the beast’s head did not match reality, because the next phrase shows that in fact it did not die. This text does not affirm that the beast died and was resurrected, but some draw this conclusion because of the only other use of the phrase, which refers to Jesus in 5:6.

[13:3]  ⁸³ tn The phrase τοῦ θανάτου (tou qanatou) can be translated as an attributive genitive (“deathly wound”) or an objective genitive (the wound which caused death) and the final αὐτοῦ (autou) is either possessive or reference/respect.

[13:3]  ⁸⁴ tn On the phrase “the whole world followed the beast in amazement,” BDAG 445 s.v. θαυμάζω 2 states, “wonder, be amazed…Rv 17:8. In pregnant constr. ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τ. θηρίου the whole world followed the beast, full of wonder 13:3 (here wonder becomes worship: cp. Ael. Aristid. 13 p. 290 D.; 39 p. 747 of Dionysus and Heracles, οἳ ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐθαυμάσθησαν. Sir 7:29; Jos., Ant. 3, 65. – The act. is also found in this sense: Cebes 2, 3 θ. τινά = ‘admire’ or ‘venerate’ someone; Epict. 1, 17, 19 θ. τὸν θεόν).”

[13:4]  ⁸⁵ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:4]  ⁸⁶ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[13:8]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:8]  ⁸⁸ tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.

[13:8]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”