Revelation 4:1-2

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.” 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, ⁶  and ⁷  a throne was standing ⁸  in heaven with someone seated on it!

[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.

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[4:2]  ⁷ 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).

[4:2]  ⁸ tn BDAG 537 s.v. κεῖμαι 2 gives the translation “stand” for the term in this verse.