Revelation 1:17

1:17 When ¹  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ²  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last,

Revelation 14:7-9

14:7 He declared ³  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!”

14:8 A ⁴  second ⁵  angel ⁶  followed the first, ⁷  declaring: ⁸  “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! ⁹  She made all the nations ¹⁰  drink of the wine of her immoral passion.” ¹¹ 

14:9 A ¹²  third angel ¹³  followed the first two, ¹⁴  declaring ¹⁵  in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand,

Revelation 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ¹⁶  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ¹⁷  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ¹⁸  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Revelation 18:2

18:2 He ¹⁹  shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!

She ²⁰  has become a lair for demons,

a haunt ²¹  for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ²² 

Revelation 18:21

18:21 Then ²³  one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,

“With this kind of sudden violent force ²⁴ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ²⁵ 

and it will never be found again!

Revelation 19:17

19:17 Then ²⁶  I saw one angel standing in ²⁷  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ²⁸ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ²⁹  of God,

[1:17]  ¹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:17]  ² tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

[14:7]  ³ 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.

[14:8]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:8]  ⁶ tc There are several different variants comprising a textual problem involving “second” (δεύτερος, deuteros). First, several mss (A 1 2329 Ï^K) read “another, a second angel” (ἄλλος δεύτερος ἄγγελος, allo" deutero" angelo"). Second, other mss (Ì⁴⁷ א* 1006 1841 1854 pc) read just “another, a second” (ἄλλος δεύτερος). Third, the reading “another angel” (ἄλλος ἄγγελος) is supported by a few Greek mss and some versional evidence (69 pc ar vg). Fourth, several mss (א² [C reads δεύτερον instead of δεύτερος] 051 1611 2053 2344 Ï^A) support the reading “another, a second angel” (ἄλλος ἄγγελος δεύτερος). The reading that most likely gave rise to the others is the fourth. The first reading attempts to smooth out the grammar by placing the adjective in front of the noun. The second reading may have dropped out the “angel” on the basis of its similarity to “another” (ἄλλος). The third reading either intentionally or accidentally left out the word “second.” In any event, this is weakly attested and should not be given much consideration. (If, however, this reading had had good support, with “second” floating, and with “third” in the text in 14:9, one could possibly see δεύτερος as a motivated reading. But without sufficient support for the third reading, the one thing that is most certain is that δεύτερος was part of the original text here.) It is difficult to account for the rise of the other readings if “second” is not original. And the undisputed use of “third” (τρίτος, tritos) in 14:9 may be another indicator that the adjective “second” was in the original text. Finally, the fourth reading is the more difficult and therefore, in this case, to be accepted as the progenitor of the others.

[14:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “And another angel, a second.”

[14:8]  ⁸ tn The words “the first” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:8]  ⁹ tn For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

[14:8]  ¹⁰ sn The fall of Babylon the great city is described in detail in Rev 18:2-24.

[14:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[14:8]  ¹² tn Grk “of the wine of the passion of the sexual immorality of her.” Here τῆς πορνείας (th" porneia") has been translated as an attributive genitive. In an ironic twist of fate, God will make Babylon drink her own mixture, but it will become the wine of his wrath in retribution for her immoral deeds (see the note on the word “wrath” in 16:19).

[14:9]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “And another angel, a third.”

[14:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “followed them.”

[14:9]  ¹⁰ tn For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

[17:1]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ¹¹ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[18:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style

[18:2]  ¹² tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.

[18:2]  ¹³ tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”

[18:2]  ¹⁴ tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some mss omitting one or the other phrase. The third phrase (“a haunt for every unclean animal” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς θηρίου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" qhriou akaqartou]), however, is more problematic since it is missing in several important mss (א C 051 Ï). The passage as a whole, including the third phrase, seems to be an allusion to Isa 13:21 and 34:11. It seems reasonable, in such a case, to assume that since there is good ms evidence to support the third phrase (A 1611 2329 al), it probably dropped out of certain mss because of its similarity to the two preceding clauses. It is the presence of all three phrases in the original that most likely gave rise to the divergent ms evidence extant today.

[18:21]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ¹⁴ tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.

[18:21]  ¹⁵ sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.

[19:17]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ¹⁶ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ¹⁷ tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.

[19:17]  ¹⁸ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.