Revelation 20:4-6

20:4 Then ¹  I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. ²  I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These ³  had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They ⁴  came to life ⁵  and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 20:5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) ⁶  This is the first resurrection. 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part ⁷  in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, ⁸  but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

[20:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:4]  ² tn Grk “I saw thrones, and those seated on them, and judgment was given to them.” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 3 says, “judging, judgment, the κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς authority to judge was given to them Rv 20:4.”

[20:4]  ³ tn Grk “God, and who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “these” as subject.

[20:4]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:4]  ⁵ tn On the use of the aorist ἔζησαν (ezhsan) BDAG 425 s.v. ζάω 1.a.β says, “of dead persons who return to life become alive again: of humans in general (3 Km 17:23) Mt 9:18; Ac 9:41; 20:12; Rv 20:4, 5.”

[20:5]  ⁶ sn This statement appears to be a parenthetical comment by the author.

[20:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “who has a share.”

[20:6]  ⁸ tn The shift from the singular pronoun (“the one”) to the plural (“them”) in the passage reflects the Greek text: The singular participle ὁ ἔχων (Jo ecwn) is followed by the plural pronoun τούτων (toutwn). In the interests of English style, this is obscured in most modern translations except the NASB.