Revelation 2:1

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:

Revelation 5:11

5:11 Then ⁷  I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their ⁸  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ⁹  – thousands times thousands –

Revelation 6:1

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, ¹⁰  “Come!” ¹¹ 

Revelation 7:11

7:11 And all the angels stood ¹²  there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ¹³  before the throne and worshiped God,

Revelation 8:10

8:10 Then ¹⁴  the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; ¹⁵  it landed ¹⁶  on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

Revelation 12:17

12:17 So ¹⁷  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ¹⁸  those who keep ¹⁹  God’s commandments and hold to ²⁰  the testimony about Jesus. ²¹  (12:18) And the dragon ²²  stood ²³  on the sand ²⁴  of the seashore. ²⁵ 

Revelation 14:3

14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No ²⁶  one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.

Revelation 15:7

15:7 Then ²⁷  one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath ²⁸  of God who lives forever and ever,

Revelation 16:12

16:12 Then ²⁹  the sixth angel ³⁰  poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water ³¹  to prepare the way ³²  for the kings from the east. ³³ 

Revelation 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ³⁴  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ³⁵  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ³⁶  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Revelation 17:6

17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. ³⁷  I ³⁸  was greatly astounded ³⁹  when I saw her.

Revelation 22:6

A Final Reminder

22:6 Then ⁴⁰  the angel ⁴¹  said to me, “These words are reliable ⁴²  and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants ⁴³  what must happen soon.”

[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.

[5:11]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:11]  ⁹ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.

[6:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “saying like a voice [or sound] of thunder.”

[6:1]  ¹⁴ 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.

[7:11]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.

[7:11]  ²⁰ 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.”

[8:10]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:10]  ²⁶ tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[8:10]  ²⁷ tn Grk “fell.”

[12:17]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

[12:17]  ³² tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

[12:17]  ³³ tn Or “who obey.”

[12:17]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and having.”

[12:17]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).

[12:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:17]  ³⁷ tc Grk ἐστάθη (estaqh, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better mss (Ì⁴⁷ א A C 1854 2344 2351 pc lat sy^h) while the majority of mss (051 Ï vg^mss sy^ph co) have the reading ἐστάθην (estaqhn, “I stood”). Thus, the majority of mss make the narrator, rather than the dragon of 12:17, the subject of the verb. The first person reading is most likely an assimilation to the following verb in 13:1, “I saw.” The reading “I stood” was introduced either by accident or to produce a smoother flow, giving the narrator a vantage point on the sea’s edge from which to observe the beast rising out of the sea in 13:1. But almost everywhere else in the book, the phrase καὶ εἶδον (kai eidon, “and I saw”) marks a transition to a new vision, without reference to the narrator’s activity. On both external and internal grounds, it is best to adopt the third person reading, “he stood.”

[12:17]  ³⁸ tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

[12:17]  ³⁹ sn The standard critical texts of the Greek NT, NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, both include this sentence as 12:18, as do the RSV and NRSV. Other modern translations like the NASB and NIV include the sentence at the beginning of 13:1; in these versions chap. 12 has only 17 verses.

[14:3]  ³⁷ tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:7]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[15:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “anger.”

[16:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the sixth”; the referent (the sixth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:12]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “and its water was dried up.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one.

[16:12]  ⁵² tn Grk “in order that the way might be prepared.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one.

[16:12]  ⁵³ tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12; simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”

[17:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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.”

[17:6]  ⁶¹ tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.

[17:6]  ⁶² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:6]  ⁶³ tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).

[22:6]  ⁶⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[22:6]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15; 22:1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “faithful.”

[22:6]  ⁷⁰ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.