Revelation 19:1-8

19:1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ¹ 

For he has judged ²  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ³  poured out by her own hands!” ⁴ 

19:3 Then ⁵  a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. ⁶  19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground ⁷  and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: “Amen! Hallelujah!”

19:5 Then ⁸  a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God

all you his servants,

and all you who fear Him,

both the small and the great!”

The Wedding Celebration of the Lamb

19:6 Then ⁹  I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting: ¹⁰ 

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God, ¹¹  the All-Powerful, ¹²  reigns!

19:7 Let us rejoice ¹³  and exult

and give him glory,

because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

19:8 She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen” ¹⁴  (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). ¹⁵ 

[19:2]  ¹ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ² tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ³ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).

[19:3]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:3]  ⁶ tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”

[19:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “creatures fell down.” 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.”

[19:5]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:6]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “like the voice of a large crowd…saying.” Because of the complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”

[19:6]  ¹¹ tc Several mss (א² P 1611 2053 2344 pc Ï^K lat ) read “the Lord our God” (κύριος ὁ θεός ἡμῶν, kurio" Jo qeo" Jhmwn). Other important mss (A 1006 1841 pc), however, omit the “our” (ἡμῶν). Further, certain mss (051 Ï^A) omit “Lord” (κύριος), while others (including א*) change the order of the statement to “God our Lord” (ὁ θεός ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν). The expression “the Lord God, the All-Powerful” occurs in 6 other places in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22) and the pronoun “our” is never used. Scribes familiar with the expression in this book, and especially with the frequent κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ (kurio" Jo qeo" Jo pantokratwr; “the Lord God, the All-Powerful”) in the OT Prophets (LXX; cf. Jer 39:19; Hos 12:6; Amos 3:13; 4:13; 5:8, 14, 15, 16, 27; 9:5, 6, 15; Nah 3:5; Zech 10:3), would naturally omit the pronoun. Its presence may have arisen due to liturgical motivations or to conform to the expression “our God” in 19:1, 5, but this seems much less likely than an aversion to using the pronoun here and only here in the Greek Bible in the fuller title κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ.

[19:6]  ¹² 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…κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ π. Rv 19:6.”

[19:7]  ¹³ tn This verb and the next two verbs are hortatory subjunctives (giving exhortations).

[19:8]  ¹⁴ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12…16; 19:8, 14.”

[19:8]  ¹⁵ sn This phrase is treated as a parenthetical explanation by the author.