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 2:7

2:7 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, ⁶  I will permit ⁷  him to eat from the tree of life that is ⁸  in the paradise of God.’ ⁹ 

Revelation 3:21

3:21 I will grant the one ¹⁰  who conquers ¹¹  permission ¹²  to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered ¹³  and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 6:2

6:2 So ¹⁴  I looked, ¹⁵  and here came ¹⁶  a white horse! The ¹⁷  one who rode it ¹⁸  had a bow, and he was given a crown, ¹⁹  and as a conqueror ²⁰  he rode out to conquer.

Revelation 7:15

7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ²¹  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ²² 

Revelation 9:1

9:1 Then ²³  the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky ²⁴  to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. ²⁵ 

Revelation 14:7

14:7 He declared ²⁶  in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

Revelation 16:9

16:9 Thus ²⁷  people ²⁸  were scorched by the terrible heat, ²⁹  yet ³⁰  they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority ³¹  over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.

[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.

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Or “grant.”

[2:7]  ⁸ tn Or “stands.”

[2:7]  ⁹ tc The omission of “my” (μου, mou) after “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) is well attested, supported by א A C and the Andreas of Caesarea group of Byzantine mss (Ï^A). Its addition in 1611, the Ï^K group, latt, and others, seems to be evidence of a purposeful conforming of the text to 3:2 and the four occurrences of “my God” (θεοῦ μου) in 3:12.

[3:21]  ¹¹ tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”

[3:21]  ¹² tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[3:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”

[3:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”

[6:2]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of hearing the voice summon the first rider.

[6:2]  ¹⁷ 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 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) as mentioned in the text-critical note on 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:2]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:2]  ²¹ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

[6:2]  ²² tn The participle νικῶν (nikwn) has been translated as substantival, the subject of the verb ἐξῆλθεν (exhlqen). Otherwise, as an adverbial participle of manner, it is somewhat redundant: “he rode out conquering and to conquer.”

[7:15]  ²¹ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ²² tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[9:1]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[9:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[9:1]  ²⁸ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[14:7]  ³¹ tn Grk “people, saying.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence. For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

[16:9]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “thus” to indicate the implied result of the bowl poured on the sun.

[16:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.

[16:9]  ³⁸ tn On this phrase BDAG 536 s.v. καῦμα states, “burning, heat Rv 7:16…καυματίζεσθαι κ. μέγα be burned with a scorching heat 16:9.”

[16:9]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:9]  ⁴⁰ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.