Revelation 1:1

The Prologue

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, ¹  which God gave him to show his servants ²  what must happen very soon. ³  He made it clear ⁴  by sending his angel to his servant ⁵  John,

Revelation 2:24

2:24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching ⁶  (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets ⁷  of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you.

Revelation 3:3

3:3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard, ⁸  and obey it, ⁹  and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never ¹⁰  know at what hour I will come against ¹¹  you.

Revelation 6:5

6:5 Then ¹²  when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So ¹³  I looked, ¹⁴  and here came ¹⁵  a black horse! The ¹⁶  one who rode it ¹⁷  had a balance scale ¹⁸  in his hand.

Revelation 7:14

7:14 So ¹⁹  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ²⁰  Then ²¹  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ²²  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!

Revelation 9:2

9:2 He ²³  opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it ²⁴  like smoke from a giant furnace. The ²⁵  sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft.

Revelation 12:9

12:9 So ²⁶  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

Revelation 16:19

16:19 The ²⁷  great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations ²⁸  collapsed. ²⁹  So ³⁰  Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup ³¹  filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath. ³² 

Revelation 17:7

17:7 But ³³  the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret ³⁴  for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

Revelation 19:15

19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ³⁵  He ³⁶  will rule ³⁷  them with an iron rod, ³⁸  and he stomps the winepress ³⁹  of the furious ⁴⁰  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ⁴¹ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn The phrase ἀποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (ajpokaluyi" Ihsou Cristou, “the revelation of Jesus Christ”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“the revelation about Jesus Christ”), subjective genitive (“the revelation from Jesus Christ”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). In 1:1 and 22:16 it is clear that Jesus has sent his angel to proclaim the message to John; thus the message is from Christ, and this would be a subjective genitive. On a broader scale, though, the revelation is about Christ, so this would be an objective genitive. One important point to note is that the phrase under consideration is best regarded as the title of the book and therefore refers to the whole of the work in all its aspects. This fact favors considering this as a plenary genitive.

[1:1]  ² tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³ tn BDAG 992-93 s.v. τάχος has “quickly, at once, without delay Ac 10:33 D; 12:7; 17:15 D; 22:18; 1 Cl 48:1; 63:4…soon, in a short time…Rv 1:1; 22:6…shortly Ac 25:4.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.

[2:24]  ⁶ sn That is, the teaching of Jezebel (v. 20).

[2:24]  ⁷ tn Grk “deep things.” For the translation “deep secrets” see L&N 28.76; cf. NAB, NIV, CEV.

[3:3]  ¹¹ tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pw" eilhfa" kai hkousa") probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.

[3:3]  ¹² tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.

[3:3]  ¹³ tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “come on.”

[6:5]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:5]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.

[6:5]  ¹⁸ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:5]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:5]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:5]  ²² sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.

[7:14]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

[7:14]  ²² tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

[7:14]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:14]  ²⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:2]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:2]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the shaft,” but since this would be somewhat redundant in English, the pronoun “it” is used here.

[9:2]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:9]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[16:19]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:19]  ³⁷ tn Or “of the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[16:19]  ³⁸ tn Grk “fell.”

[16:19]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Babylon’s misdeeds (see Rev 14:8).

[16:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the cup of the wine of the anger of the wrath of him.” The concatenation of four genitives has been rendered somewhat differently by various translations (see the note on the word “wrath”).

[16:19]  ⁴¹ tn Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumo") and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9). Thus in Rev 14:8 (to which the present passage alludes) and 18:3 there is irony: The wine of immoral behavior with which Babylon makes the nations drunk becomes the wine of God’s wrath for her.

[17:7]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[17:7]  ⁴² tn Grk “I will tell you,” but since what follows is the angel’s interpretation of the vision, “interpret for you” is the preferred translation here.

[19:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[19:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[19:15]  ⁵⁰ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

[19:15]  ⁵¹ tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

[19:15]  ⁵² tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”