Revelation 11:2

11:2 But ¹  do not measure the outer courtyard ²  of the temple; leave it out, ³  because it has been given to the Gentiles, ⁴  and they will trample on the holy city ⁵  for forty-two months.

Revelation 11:8

11:8 Their ⁶  corpses will lie in the street ⁷  of the great city that is symbolically ⁸  called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.

Revelation 13:2-4

13:2 Now ⁹  the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The ¹⁰  dragon gave the beast ¹¹  his power, his throne, and great authority to rule. ¹²  13:3 One of the beast’s ¹³  heads appeared to have been killed, ¹⁴  but the lethal wound had been healed. ¹⁵  And the whole world followed ¹⁶  the beast in amazement; 13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority ¹⁷  to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” ¹⁸ 

Revelation 17:9

17:9 (This requires ¹⁹  a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains ²⁰  the woman sits on. They are also seven kings:

Revelation 17:17

17:17 For God has put into their minds ²¹  to carry out his purpose ²²  by making ²³  a decision ²⁴  to give their royal power ²⁵  to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. ²⁶ 

Revelation 18:2

18:2 He ²⁷  shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!

She ²⁸  has become a lair for demons,

a haunt ²⁹  for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ³⁰ 

Revelation 18:21

18:21 Then ³¹  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 ³² 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ³³ 

and it will never be found again!

Revelation 18:23

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ³⁴  were deceived by your magic spells! ³⁵ 

[11:2]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:2]  ² tn On the term αὐλήν (aulhn) BDAG 150 s.v. αὐλή 1 states, “(outer) court of the temple…Rv 11:2.”

[11:2]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the phrase ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν (ekbale exwqen) is difficult to determine.

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Or “to the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[11:2]  ⁵ sn The holy city appears to be a reference to Jerusalem. See also Luke 21:24.

[11:8]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:8]  ⁷ tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).

[11:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “spiritually.”

[13:2]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the following description of the beast.

[13:2]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “gave it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:2]  ¹² tn For the translation “authority to rule” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:3]  ¹³ tn Grk “one of its heads”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “killed to death,” an expression emphatic in its redundancy. The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. In this instance, the appearance of the beast’s head did not match reality, because the next phrase shows that in fact it did not die. This text does not affirm that the beast died and was resurrected, but some draw this conclusion because of the only other use of the phrase, which refers to Jesus in 5:6.

[13:3]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase τοῦ θανάτου (tou qanatou) can be translated as an attributive genitive (“deathly wound”) or an objective genitive (the wound which caused death) and the final αὐτοῦ (autou) is either possessive or reference/respect.

[13:3]  ¹⁶ tn On the phrase “the whole world followed the beast in amazement,” BDAG 445 s.v. θαυμάζω 2 states, “wonder, be amazed…Rv 17:8. In pregnant constr. ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τ. θηρίου the whole world followed the beast, full of wonder 13:3 (here wonder becomes worship: cp. Ael. Aristid. 13 p. 290 D.; 39 p. 747 of Dionysus and Heracles, οἳ ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐθαυμάσθησαν. Sir 7:29; Jos., Ant. 3, 65. – The act. is also found in this sense: Cebes 2, 3 θ. τινά = ‘admire’ or ‘venerate’ someone; Epict. 1, 17, 19 θ. τὸν θεόν).”

[13:4]  ¹⁷ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:4]  ¹⁸ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[17:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Here is the mind that has wisdom.”

[17:9]  ²⁰ tn It is important to note that the height of “mountains” versus “hills” or other topographical terms is somewhat relative. In terms of Palestinian topography, Mount Tabor (traditionally regarded as the mount of transfiguration) is some 1,800 ft (550 m) above sea level, while the Mount of Olives is only some 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem.

[17:17]  ²¹ tn Grk “hearts.”

[17:17]  ²² tn Or “his intent.”

[17:17]  ²³ tn The infinitive ποιῆσαι (poihsai) was translated here as giving the logical means by which God’s purpose was carried out.

[17:17]  ²⁴ tn On this term BDAG 203 s.v. γνώμη 4 states, “declaration, decision, resolution…of God Rv 17:17.”

[17:17]  ²⁵ tn For this translation see BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a, “kingship, royal power, royal rule.”

[17:17]  ²⁶ tn Or “completed.”

[18:2]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style

[18:2]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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.

[18:23]  ³⁴ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ³⁵ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”