Revelation 20:2-4

20:2 He ¹  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ²  then ³  threw him into the abyss and locked ⁴  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

20:4 Then ⁵  I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. ⁶  I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These ⁷  had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They ⁸  came to life ⁹  and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

[20:2]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ⁴ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.

[20:4]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “I saw thrones, and those seated on them, and judgment was given to them.” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 3 says, “judging, judgment, the κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς authority to judge was given to them Rv 20:4.”

[20:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “God, and who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “these” as subject.

[20:4]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:4]  ⁹ tn On the use of the aorist ἔζησαν (ezhsan) BDAG 425 s.v. ζάω 1.a.β says, “of dead persons who return to life become alive again: of humans in general (3 Km 17:23) Mt 9:18; Ac 9:41; 20:12; Rv 20:4, 5.”