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 4:8

4:8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings ¹³  and was full of eyes all around and inside. ¹⁴  They never rest day or night, saying: ¹⁵ 

“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, ¹⁶ 

Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ¹⁷ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ¹⁸ 

and at the cost of your own blood ¹⁹  you have purchased ²⁰  for God

persons ²¹  from every tribe, language, ²²  people, and nation.

[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.”

[4:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.

[4:8]  ¹⁴ tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (eswqen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.

[4:8]  ¹⁵ tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”

[4:8]  ¹⁶ 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.”

[5:9]  ¹⁹ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ²¹ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ²² tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ²³ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.