Revelation 16:10-11

16:10 Then ¹  the fifth angel ²  poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that ³  darkness covered his kingdom, ⁴  and people ⁵  began to bite ⁶  their tongues because ⁷  of their pain. 16:11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings ⁸  and because of their sores, ⁹  but nevertheless ¹⁰  they still refused to repent ¹¹  of their deeds.

Revelation 16:21

16:21 And gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds ¹²  each, fell from heaven ¹³  on people, ¹⁴  but they ¹⁵  blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it ¹⁶  was so horrendous. ¹⁷ 

Revelation 16:2

16:2 So ¹⁸  the first angel ¹⁹  went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Then ²⁰  ugly and painful sores ²¹  appeared on the people ²²  who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

Revelation 6:1-2

The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, ²³  “Come!” ²⁴  6:2 So ²⁵  I looked, ²⁶  and here came ²⁷  a white horse! The ²⁸  one who rode it ²⁹  had a bow, and he was given a crown, ³⁰  and as a conqueror ³¹  he rode out to conquer.

Revelation 1:1

The Prologue

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, ³²  which God gave him to show his servants ³³  what must happen very soon. ³⁴  He made it clear ³⁵  by sending his angel to his servant ³⁶  John,

Isaiah 1:5

1:5 ³⁷ Why do you insist on being battered?

Why do you continue to rebel? ³⁸ 

Your head has a massive wound, ³⁹ 

your whole body is weak. ⁴⁰ 

Isaiah 8:21

8:21 They will pass through the land ⁴¹  destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, ⁴²  and they will curse their king and their God ⁴³  as they look upward.

Jeremiah 5:3

5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ⁴⁴ 

But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ⁴⁵ 

Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.

They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ⁴⁶ 

They refuse to change their ways. ⁴⁷ 

Jeremiah 6:29-30

6:29 The fiery bellows of judgment burn fiercely.

But there is too much dross to be removed. ⁴⁸ 

The process of refining them has proved useless. ⁴⁹ 

The wicked have not been purged.

6:30 They are regarded as ‘rejected silver’ ⁵⁰ 

because the Lord rejects them.”

Ezekiel 24:13

24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. ⁵¹ 

I tried to cleanse you, ⁵²  but you are not clean.

You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness ⁵³ 

until I have exhausted my anger on you.

[16:10]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:10]  ² tn Grk “the fifth”; the referent (the fifth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:10]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” to indicate the implied result of the fifth bowl being poured out.

[16:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “his kingdom became dark.”

[16:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.

[16:10]  ⁶ tn On this term BDAG 620 s.v. μασάομαι states, “bite w. acc. τὰς γλώσσας bite their tongues Rv 16:10.”

[16:10]  ⁷ tn The preposition ἐκ (ek) has been translated here and twice in the following verse with a causal sense.

[16:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “pains” (the same term in Greek [πόνος, ponos] as the last word in v. 11, here translated “sufferings” because it is plural). BDAG 852 s.v. 2 states, “ἐκ τοῦ π. in pain…Rv 16:10; pl. (Gen 41:51; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 146; Test. Jud. 18:4) ἐκ τῶν π. …because of their sufferings vs. 11.”

[16:11]  ⁹ tn Or “ulcerated sores” (see 16:2).

[16:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and they did not repent.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but nevertheless” to express the contrast here.

[16:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “they did not repent” The addition of “still refused” reflects the hardness of people’s hearts in the context.

[16:21]  ¹² tn Here BDAG 988 s.v. ταλαντιαῖος states, “weighing a talent…χάλαζα μεγάλη ὡς ταλαντιαία a severe hailstorm with hailstones weighing a talent (the talent=125 librae, or Roman pounds of c. 343 gr. or 12 ounces each) (weighing about a hundred pounds NRSV) Rv 16:21.” This means each hailstone would weigh just under 100 pounds or 40 kilograms.

[16:21]  ¹³ tn Or “the sky.” Due to the apocalyptic nature of this book, it is probably best to leave the translation as “from heaven,” since God is ultimately the source of the judgment.

[16:21]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “on men,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense to refer to people in general (the hailstones did not single out adult males, but would have also fallen on women and children).

[16:21]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the men”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun “they” is used here.

[16:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the plague of it.”

[16:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “since the plague of it was exceedingly great.”

[16:2]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the directions given by the voice from the temple.

[16:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the first”; the referent (the first angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:2]  ²¹ tn Or “ulcerated sores”; the term in the Greek text is singular but is probably best understood as a collective singular.

[16:2]  ²² tn Grk ‘the men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.

[6:1]  ²³ tn Grk “saying like a voice [or sound] of thunder.”

[6:1]  ²⁴ tc The addition of “and see” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) to “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1, 3-5, 7 is a gloss directed to John, i.e., “come and look at the seals and the horsemen!” But the command ἔρχου is better interpreted as directed to each of the horsemen. The shorter reading also has the support of the better witnesses.

[6:2]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of hearing the voice summon the first rider.

[6:2]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:2]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:2]  ³⁰ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

[6:2]  ³¹ 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.”

[1:1]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).

[1:1]  ³⁶ tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.

[1:5]  ³⁷ sn In vv. 5-9 Isaiah addresses the battered nation (5-8) and speaks as their representative (9).

[1:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Why are you still beaten? [Why] do you continue rebellion?” The rhetorical questions express the prophet’s disbelief over Israel’s apparent masochism and obsession with sin. The interrogative construction in the first line does double duty in the parallelism. H. Wildberger (Isaiah, 1:18) offers another alternative by translating the two statements with one question: “Why do you still wish to be struck that you persist in revolt?”

[1:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “all the head is ill”; NRSV “the whole head is sick”; CEV “Your head is badly bruised.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and all the heart is faint.” The “heart” here stands for bodily strength and energy, as suggested by the context and usage elsewhere (see Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22).

[8:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he will pass through it.” The subject of the collective singular verb is the nation. (See the preceding note.) The immediately preceding context supplies no antecedent for “it” (a third feminine singular suffix in the Hebrew text); the suffix may refer to the land, which would be a reasonable referent with a verb of motion. Note also that אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) does appear at the beginning of the next verse.

[8:21]  ⁴² tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[8:21]  ⁴³ tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).

[5:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[5:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.

[5:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”

[5:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”

[6:29]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire.” The translation tries to clarify a metaphor involving ancient metallurgy. In the ancient refining process lead was added as a flux to remove impurities from silver ore in the process of oxidizing the lead. Jeremiah says that the lead has been used up and the impurities have not been removed. The translation is based on the recognition of an otherwise unused verb root meaning “blow” (נָחַר [nakhar]; cf. BDB 1123 s.v. I חָרַר and HALOT 651 s.v. נָחַר) and the Masoretes’ suggestion that the consonants מאשׁתם be read מֵאֵשׁ תַּם (me’esh tam) rather than as מֵאֶשָּׁתָם (me’eshatam, “from their fire”) from an otherwise unattested noun אֶשָּׁה (’eshah).

[6:29]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “The refiner refines them in vain.”

[6:30]  ⁵⁰ tn This translation is intended to reflect the wordplay in the Hebrew text where the same root word is repeated in the two lines.

[24:13]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”

[24:13]  ⁵² tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.

[24:13]  ⁵³ tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”