Revelation 2:17

2:17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, ¹  I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white ²  stone, ³  and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand ⁴  except the one who receives it.’

Revelation 5:6

5:6 Then ⁵  I saw standing in the middle of the throne ⁶  and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. ⁷  He had ⁸  seven horns and seven eyes, which ⁹  are the seven ¹⁰  spirits of God ¹¹  sent out into all the earth.

Revelation 7:9

7:9 After these things I looked, and here was ¹²  an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, ¹³  people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 8:3

8:3 Another ¹⁴  angel holding ¹⁵  a golden censer ¹⁶  came and was stationed ¹⁷  at the altar. A ¹⁸  large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne.

Revelation 14:11

14:11 And the smoke from their ¹⁹  torture will go up ²⁰  forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have ²¹  no rest day or night, along with ²²  anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:18

14:18 Another ²³  angel, who was in charge of ²⁴  the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel ²⁵  who had the sharp sickle, “Use ²⁶  your sharp sickle and gather ²⁷  the clusters of grapes ²⁸  off the vine of the earth, ²⁹  because its grapes ³⁰  are now ripe.” ³¹ 

Revelation 19:20

19:20 Now ³²  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ³³  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ³⁴ 

Revelation 20:6

20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part ³⁵  in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, ³⁶  but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 22:19

22:19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life ³⁷  and in the holy city that are described in this book.

[2:17]  ¹ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.

[2:17]  ² tn Or “bright.” The Greek term λευκός (leukos) can refer either to the color white (traditional here) or to an object that is bright or shining, either from itself or from an outside source of illumination (L&N 14.50; 79.27).

[2:17]  ³ tn On the interpretation of the stone, L&N 2.27 states, “A number of different suggestions have been made as to the reference of ψῆφος in this context. Some scholars believe that the white ψῆφος indicates a vote of acquittal in court. Others contend that it is simply a magical amulet; still others, a token of Roman hospitality; and finally, some have suggested that it may represent a ticket to the gladiatorial games, that is to say, to martyrdom. The context, however, suggests clearly that this is something to be prized and a type of reward for those who have ‘won the victory.’”

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Or “know”; for the meaning “understand” see L&N 32.4.

[5:6]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).

[5:6]  ⁷ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.” 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. This phrase does not imply that the Lamb “appeared to have been killed” but in reality was not, because the wider context of the NT shows that in fact the Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed. See 13:3 for the only other occurrence of this phrase in the NT.

[5:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “killed, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

[5:6]  ⁹ sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.

[5:6]  ¹⁰ tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; ̲⁴ א 2053 2351 Ï^K). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 Ï^A pc). It may have been accidentally added due to its repeated presence in the immediately preceding phrases, or it may have been intentionally added to maintain the symmetry of the phrases or more likely to harmonize the phrase with 1:4; 3:1; 4:5. Or it may have been accidentally deleted by way of homoioteleuton (τὰ ἑπτά, ta Jepta). A decision is difficult in this instance. NA²⁷ also does not find the problem easy to solve, placing the word in brackets to indicate doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:6]  ¹¹ sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.

[7:9]  ⁹ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:3]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “having.”

[8:3]  ¹⁵ sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.

[8:3]  ¹⁶ tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.

[8:3]  ¹⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:11]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek pronoun is plural here even though the verbs in the previous verse are singular.

[14:11]  ¹⁸ tn The present tense ἀναβαίνει (anabainei) has been translated as a futuristic present (ExSyn 535-36). This is also consistent with the future passive βασανισθήσεται (basanisqhsetai) in v. 10.

[14:11]  ¹⁹ tn The present tense ἔχουσιν (ecousin) has been translated as a futuristic present to keep the English tense consistent with the previous verb (see note on “will go up” earlier in this verse).

[14:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and.”

[14:18]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[14:18]  ²² tn Grk “who had authority over.” This appears to be the angel who tended the fire on the altar.

[14:18]  ²³ tn Grk “to the one having the sharp sickle”; the referent (the angel in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Send.”

[14:18]  ²⁵ tn On this term BDAG 1018 s.v. τρυγάω states: “‘gather in’ ripe fruit, esp. harvest (grapes) w. acc. of the fruit (POslo. 21, 13 [71 ad]; Jos., Ant. 4, 227) Lk 6:44; Rv 14:18 (in imagery, as in the foll. places)…W. acc. of that which bears the fruit gather the fruit of the vine…or the vineyard (s. ἄμπελος a) Rv 14:19.”

[14:18]  ²⁶ tn On this term BDAG 181 s.v. βότρυς states, “bunch of grapes Rv 14:18…The word is also found in the Phrygian Papias of Hierapolis, in a passage in which he speaks of the enormous size of the grapes in the new aeon (in the Lat. transl. in Irenaeus 5, 33, 2f.): dena millia botruum Papias (1:2). On this see Stephan. Byz. s.v. Εὐκαρπία: Metrophanes says that in the district of Εὐκαρπία in Phrygia Minor the grapes were said to be so large that one bunch of them caused a wagon to break down in the middle.”

[14:18]  ²⁷ tn The genitive τῆς γῆς (ths ghs), taken symbolically, could be considered a genitive of apposition.

[14:18]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps, “its bunches of grapes” (a different Greek word from the previous clause). L&N 3.38 states, “the fruit of grapevines (see 3.27) – ‘grape, bunch of grapes.’ τρύγησον τοὺς βότρυας τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἤκμασαν αἱ σταφυλαὶ αὐτῆς ‘cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth because its grapes are ripe’ Re 14:18. Some scholars have contended that βότρυς means primarily a bunch of grapes, while σταφυλή designates individual grapes. In Re 14:18 this difference might seem plausible, but there is scarcely any evidence for such a distinction, since both words may signify grapes as well as bunches of grapes.”

[14:18]  ²⁹ tn On the use of ἥκμασαν (hkmasan) BDAG 36 s.v. ἀκμάζω states, “to bloom…of grapes…Rv 14:18.”

[19:20]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ²⁶ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ²⁷ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:6]  ²⁹ tn Grk “who has a share.”

[20:6]  ³⁰ tn The shift from the singular pronoun (“the one”) to the plural (“them”) in the passage reflects the Greek text: The singular participle ὁ ἔχων (Jo ecwn) is followed by the plural pronoun τούτων (toutwn). In the interests of English style, this is obscured in most modern translations except the NASB.

[22:19]  ³³ tc The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV rests, reads “the book” of life (ἀπὸ βίβλου, apo biblou) instead of “the tree” of life. When the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus translated the NT he had access to no Greek mss for the last six verses of Revelation. So he translated the Latin Vulgate back into Greek at this point. As a result he created seventeen textual variants which were not in any Greek mss. The most notorious of these is this reading. It is thus decidedly inauthentic, while “the tree” of life, found in the best and virtually all Greek mss, is clearly authentic. The confusion was most likely due to an intra-Latin switch: The form of the word for “tree” in Latin in this passage is ligno; the word for “book” is libro. The two-letter difference accounts for an accidental alteration in some Latin mss; that “book of life” as well as “tree of life” is a common expression in the Apocalypse probably accounts for why this was not noticed by Erasmus or the KJV translators. (This textual problem is not discussed in NA²⁷.)