Revelation 1:3-4

1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this ¹  prophecy aloud, ²  and blessed are ³  those who hear and obey ⁴  the things written in it, because the time is near! ⁵ 

1:4 From John, ⁶  to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia: ⁷  Grace and peace to you ⁸  from “he who is,” ⁹  and who was, and who is still to come, ¹⁰  and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

Revelation 1:20--2:1

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹¹  The seven stars are the angels ¹²  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, ¹³  write the following: ¹⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁵  the one who has a firm grasp on ¹⁶  the seven stars in his right hand ¹⁷  – the one who walks among the seven golden ¹⁸  lampstands:

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, ¹⁹  I will permit ²⁰  him to eat from the tree of life that is ²¹  in the paradise of God.’ ²² 

Revelation 2:18

To the Church in Thyatira

2:18 “To ²³  the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: ²⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²⁵  the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame ²⁶  and whose feet are like polished bronze: ²⁷ 

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ²⁸  with a deadly disease, ²⁹  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ³⁰  each one of you ³¹  what your deeds deserve. ³² 

Revelation 19:17

19:17 Then ³³  I saw one angel standing in ³⁴  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ³⁵ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ³⁶  of God,

[1:3]  ¹ tn The word “this” is used to translate the Greek article τῆς (ths), bringing out its demonstrative force.

[1:3]  ² tn The word “aloud” has been supplied to indicate that in the original historical setting reading would usually refer to reading out loud in public rather than silently to oneself.

[1:3]  ³ tn The words “blessed are” are repeated from the beginning of this verse for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “keep.” L&N 36.19 has “to continue to obey orders or commandments – ‘to obey, to keep commandments, obedience.’”

[1:3]  ⁵ sn The time refers to the time when the things prophesied would happen.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “John.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[1:4]  ⁸ tn It is probable that the ὑμῖν (Jumin) applies to both elements of the greeting, i.e., to both grace and peace.

[1:4]  ⁹ tc The earliest and best mss (Ì^18vid א A C P 2050 al lat sy co) lack the term “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) between “from” (ἀπό, apo) and “he who is” (ὁ ὤν, Jo wn). Its inclusion, as supported by the bulk of the Byzantine witnesses, is clearly secondary and a scribal attempt to achieve two things: (1) to make explicit the referent in the passage, namely, God, and (2) to smooth out the grammar. The preposition “from” in Greek required a noun in the genitive case. But here in Rev 1:4 the words following the preposition “from” (ἀπό) are in another case, i.e., the nominative. There are two principal ways in which to deal with this grammatical anomaly. First, it could be a mistake arising from someone who just did not know Greek very well, or as a Jew, was heavily influenced by a Semitic form of Greek. Both of these unintentional errors are unlikely here. Commenting on this ExSyn 63 argues: “Either of these is doubtful here because (1) such a flagrant misunderstanding of the rudiments of Greek would almost surely mean that the author could not compose in Greek, yet the Apocalypse itself argues against this; (2) nowhere else does the Seer [i.e., John] use a nom. immediately after a preposition (in fact, he uses ἀπό 32 times with the gen. immediately following).” The passage appears to be an allusion to Exod 3:14 (in the LXX) where God refers to himself as “he who is” (ὁ ὤν), the same wording in Greek as here in Rev 1:4. Thus, it appears that John is wanting to leave the divine name untouched (perhaps to allude to God’s immutability, or as a pointer to the Old Testament as the key to unlocking the meaning of this book), irrespective of what it “looks” like grammatically. The translation has placed the “he who is” in quotation marks to indicate to the reader that the syntactical awkwardness is intentional. (For further comments, see ExSyn 63).

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.d states: “The expr. εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ‘ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος’ Rv 1:4 is quite extraordinary. It may be an interpretation of the name Yahweh already current, or an attempt to show reverence for the divine name by preserving it unchanged, or simply one more of the grammatical peculiarities so frequent in Rv.”

[1:20]  ¹¹ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”

[2:1]  ¹⁶ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” The expression τάδε λέγει (tade legei) occurs eight times in the NT, seven of which are in Rev 2-3. “The pronoun is used to add solemnity to the prophetic utterance that follows. …In classical drama, it was used to introduce a new actor to the scene (Smyth, Greek Grammar, 307 [§1241]). But the τάδε λέγει formula in the NT derives from the OT, where it was used to introduce a prophetic utterance (BAGD, s.v. ὅδε, 1)” (ExSyn 328). Thus, the translation “this is the solemn pronouncement of” for τάδε λέγει is very much in keeping with the OT connotations of this expression.

[2:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “holds,” but the term (i.e., κρατῶν, kratwn) with an accusative object, along with the context, argues for a sense of firmness. (Cf. ExSyn 132.)

[2:1]  ²⁰ sn On seven stars in his right hand see 1:16.

[2:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “lampstands of gold” with the genitive τῶν χρυσῶν (twn cruswn) translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:7]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Or “grant.”

[2:7]  ²³ tn Or “stands.”

[2:7]  ²⁴ 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.

[2:18]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:18]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:18]  ²⁸ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:18]  ²⁹ tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:18]  ³⁰ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears no where else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 1:15), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 1:15 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[2:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ³² tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ³³ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ³⁴ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³⁵ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[19:17]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ³⁷ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.