Revelation 3:8-9

3:8 ‘I know your deeds. (Look! I have put ¹  in front of you an open door that no one can shut.) ²  I know ³  that you have little strength, ⁴  but ⁵  you have obeyed ⁶  my word and have not denied my name. 3:9 Listen! ⁷  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ⁸  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ⁹  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ¹⁰  them come and bow down ¹¹  at your feet and acknowledge ¹²  that I have loved you.

Revelation 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ¹³  a door standing open in heaven! ¹⁴  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ¹⁵  like a trumpet ¹⁶  said: “Come up here so that ¹⁷  I can show you what must happen after these things.”

[3:8]  ¹ tn Grk “I have given.”

[3:8]  ² tn Grk “to shut it,” but English would leave the direct object understood in this case.

[3:8]  ³ tn This translation is based on connecting the ὅτι (Joti) clause with the οἶδα (oida) at the beginning of the verse, giving the content of what is known (see also 3:1, 3:15 for parallels). Because of the intervening clause that is virtually parenthetical (see the note on the word “shut” earlier in this verse), the words “I know that” from the beginning of the verse had to be repeated to make this connection clear for the English reader. However, the ὅτι could be understood as introducing a causal subordinate clause instead and thus translated, “because you have.”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Or “little power.”

[3:8]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “and having kept.” The participle ἐτήρησας (ethrhsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the translation of τηρέω (threw) as “obey” see L&N 36.19. This is the same word that is used in 3:10 (there translated “kept”) where there is a play on words.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

[3:9]  ⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

[3:9]  ¹² tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”

[4:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[4:1]  ¹⁶ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ¹⁷ tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.