Revelation 4:4

4:4 In ¹  a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were ²  dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns ³  on their heads.

Revelation 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ⁴  a door standing open in heaven! ⁵  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ⁶  like a trumpet ⁷  said: “Come up here so that ⁸  I can show you what must happen after these things.”

Revelation 1:11-16

1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, ⁹  Smyrna, ¹⁰  Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

1:12 I ¹¹  turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, ¹²  and when I did so, ¹³  I saw seven golden lampstands, 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. ¹⁴  He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt ¹⁵  around his chest. 1:14 His ¹⁶  head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, ¹⁷  and his eyes were like a fiery ¹⁸  flame. 1:15 His feet were like polished bronze ¹⁹  refined ²⁰  in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar ²¹  of many waters. 1:16 He held ²²  seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His ²³  face shone like the sun shining at full strength.

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ²⁴ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ²⁵ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ²⁶ 

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ²⁷ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ²⁸ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ²⁹ 

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ³⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

[4:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:4]  ² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were” to indicate the connection to the preceding material.

[4:4]  ³ sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

[4:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ⁸ 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.

[1:11]  ⁹ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[1:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and to Smyrna.” For stylistic reasons the conjunction καί (kai) and the preposition εἰς (eis) have not been translated before the remaining elements of the list. In lists with more than two elements contemporary English generally does not repeat the conjunction except between the next to last and last elements.

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Throughout the translation John’s use of καί (kai) often reflects the varied usage of the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav). A clause which καί introduces has been translated in terms of its semantic relationship to the clause that preceded it. If the καί seemed redundant, however, it was left untranslated; that is the case in this verse.

[1:12]  ¹² 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.”

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrefw) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.

[1:13]  ¹⁴ tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “a wide golden sash,” but this would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[1:14]  ¹⁷ tn The clause, “even as white as snow” seems to heighten the preceding clause and is so understood in this ascensive sense (“even”) in the translation.

[1:14]  ¹⁸ tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears nowhere else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 2:18), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 2:18 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[1:15]  ²⁰ tn Or “that has been heated in a furnace until it glows.”

[1:15]  ²¹ tn Grk “sound,” but the idea is closer to the roar of a waterfall or rapids.

[1:16]  ²² tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

[1:16]  ²³ tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[115:1]  ²⁴ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ²⁶ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[115:1]  ²⁷ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ²⁹ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[1:10]  ³⁰ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ³¹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”