Revelation 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ¹  a door standing open in heaven! ²  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ³  like a trumpet ⁴  said: “Come up here so that ⁵  I can show you what must happen after these things.”

Revelation 6:8

6:8 So ⁶  I looked ⁷  and here came ⁸  a pale green ⁹  horse! The ¹⁰  name of the one who rode it ¹¹  was Death, and Hades followed right behind. ¹²  They ¹³  were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, ¹⁴  famine, and disease, ¹⁵  and by the wild animals of the earth.

[4:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ⁵ 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.

[6:8]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the fourth creature.

[6:8]  ⁷ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:8]  ⁸ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:8]  ⁹ tn A sickly pallor, when referring to persons, or the green color of plants. BDAG 1085 s.v. χλωρός 2 states, “pale, greenish gray…as the color of a pers. in sickness contrasted with appearance in health…so the horse ridden by Death…ἵππος χλωρός Rv 6:8.” Because the color of the horse is symbolic, “pale green” is used in the translation. Cf. NIV, NCV “pale”; NASB “ashen.”

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:8]  ¹² tn Grk “And Hades was following with him.” The Greek expression μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ (met’ autou, “with him”) is Semitic and indicates close proximity. The translation “followed right behind” reflects this.

[6:8]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:8]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).