Revelation 11:16-19

11:16 Then ¹  the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ²  and worshiped God 11:17 with these words: ³ 

“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ⁴ 

the one who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and begun to reign. ⁵ 

11:18 The ⁶  nations ⁷  were enraged,

but ⁸  your wrath has come,

and the time has come for the dead to be judged,

and the time has come to give to your servants, ⁹ 

the prophets, their reward,

as well as to the saints

and to those who revere ¹⁰  your name, both small and great,

and the time has come ¹¹  to destroy those who destroy ¹²  the earth.”

11:19 Then ¹³  the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, ¹⁴  crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. ¹⁵ 

[11:16]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[11:16]  ² tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[11:17]  ³ tn Grk “saying.”

[11:17]  ⁴ 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.”

[11:17]  ⁵ tn The aorist verb ἐβασίλευσας (ebasileusa") has been translated ingressively.

[11:18]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:18]  ⁷ tn Or “The Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[11:18]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:18]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[11:18]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “who fear.”

[11:18]  ¹¹ tn The words “the time has come” do not occur except at the beginning of the verse; the phrase has been repeated for emphasis and contrast. The Greek has one finite verb (“has come”) with a compound subject (“your wrath,” “the time”), followed by three infinitive clauses (“to be judged,” “to give,” “to destroy”). The rhetorical power of the repetition of the finite verb in English thus emulates the rhetorical power of its lone instance in Greek.

[11:18]  ¹² tn Or “who deprave.” There is a possible wordplay here on two meanings for διαφθείρω (diafqeirw), with the first meaning “destroy” and the second meaning either “to ruin” or “to make morally corrupt.” See L&N 20.40.

[11:19]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence on events within the vision.

[11:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”

[11:19]  ¹⁵ tn Although BDAG 1075 s.v. χάλαζα gives the meaning “hail” here, it is not clear whether the adjective μεγάλη (megalh) refers to the intensity of the storm or the size of the individual hailstones, or both.