Revelation 2:1-2

To the Church in Ephesus

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

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ³  the one who has a firm grasp on ⁴  the seven stars in his right hand ⁵  – the one who walks among the seven golden ⁶  lampstands: 2:2 ‘I know your works as well as your ⁷  labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate ⁸  evil. You have even put to the test ⁹  those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false.

Revelation 2:18

To the Church in Thyatira

2:18 “To ¹⁰  the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: ¹¹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹²  the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame ¹³  and whose feet are like polished bronze: ¹⁴ 

Revelation 6:10

6:10 They ¹⁵  cried out with a loud voice, ¹⁶  “How long, ¹⁷  Sovereign Master, ¹⁸  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”

Revelation 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ¹⁹  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ²⁰  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ²¹  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Revelation 18:2

18:2 He ²²  shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!

She ²³  has become a lair for demons,

a haunt ²⁴  for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ²⁵ 

Revelation 19:6

The Wedding Celebration of the Lamb

19:6 Then ²⁶  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: ²⁷ 

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God, ²⁸  the All-Powerful, ²⁹  reigns!

Revelation 19:17

19:17 Then ³⁰  I saw one angel standing in ³¹  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ³² 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ³³  of God,

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

[2:1]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn On seven stars in his right hand see 1:16.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “lampstands of gold” with the genitive τῶν χρυσῶν (twn cruswn) translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Although the first possessive pronoun σου (sou) is connected to τὰ ἔργα (ta erga) and the second σου is connected to ὑπομονήν (Jupomonhn), semantically κόπον (kopon) is also to be understood as belonging to the Ephesian church. The translation reflects this.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn The translation “tolerate” seems to capture the sense of βαστάσαι (bastasai) here. BDAG 171 s.v. βαστάζω 2.b.β says, “bear, endure…κακούς Rv 2:2.…bear patiently, put up with: weaknesses of the weak Ro 15:1; cf. IPol 1:2; evil Rv 2:3.”

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle was broken off from the previous sentence and translated as an indicative verb beginning a new sentence here in the translation.

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:18]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:18]  ¹⁷ 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.

[6:10]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[6:10]  ²¹ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

[6:10]  ²² tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).

[17:1]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ²⁷ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[18:2]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style

[18:2]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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.

[19:6]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:6]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ 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.”

[19:17]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ⁴⁴ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.