Revelation 5:8

5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ¹  before the Lamb. Each ²  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ³ 

Revelation 13:10

13:10 If anyone is meant for captivity,

into captivity he will go.

If anyone is to be killed by the sword, ⁴ 

then by the sword he must be killed.

This ⁵  requires steadfast endurance ⁶  and faith from the saints.

Revelation 14:10

14:10 that person ⁷  will also drink of the wine of God’s anger ⁸  that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur ⁹  in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.

Revelation 17:6

17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. ¹⁰  I ¹¹  was greatly astounded ¹²  when I saw her.

Revelation 20:9

20:9 They ¹³  went up ¹⁴  on the broad plain of the earth ¹⁵  and encircled ¹⁶  the camp ¹⁷  of the saints and the beloved city, but ¹⁸  fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. ¹⁹ 

[5:8]  ¹ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[5:8]  ² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:8]  ³ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

[13:10]  ⁴ tc Many mss (C 051* 2351 Ï^A pc) read “if anyone will kill with the sword, it is necessary for him to be killed with the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτενεῖ, δεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Other mss (א 1006 1611* 1854 al) are similar except that they read a present tense “kills” (ἀποκτείνει, apokteinei) in this sentence. Both of these variants may be regarded as essentially saying the same thing. On the other hand, codex A reads “if anyone is to be killed by the sword, he is to be killed by the sword” (εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι). Thus the first two variants convey the idea of retribution, while the last variant, supported by codex A, does not. (There are actually a dozen variants here, evidence that scribes found the original text quite difficult. Only the most important variants are discussed in this note.) The first two variants seem to be in line with Jesus’ comments in Matt 26:52: “everyone who takes up the sword will die by the sword.” The last variant, however, seems to be taking up an idea found in Jer 15:2: “Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.” Though G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 169-70, gives four arguments in favor of the first reading (i.e., “whoever kills with the sword must with the sword be killed”), the arguments he puts forward can be read equally as well to support the latter alternative. In the end, the reading in codex A seems to be original. The fact that this sentence seems to be in parallel with 10a (which simply focuses on God’s will and suffering passively and is therefore akin to the reading in codex A), and that it most likely gave rise to the others as the most difficult reading, argues for its authenticity.

[13:10]  ⁵ tn On ὧδε (Jwde) here, BDAG 1101 s.v. 2 states: “a ref. to a present event, object, or circumstance, in this case, at this point, on this occasion, under these circumstances…in this case moreover 1 Cor 4:2. ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν…Rv 13:18; cf. 17:9. ὧδέ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονή…13:10; 14:12.”

[13:10]  ⁶ tn Or “perseverance.”

[14:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “he himself.”

[14:10]  ⁸ tn The Greek word for “anger” here is θυμός (qumos), a wordplay on the “passion” (θυμός) of the personified city of Babylon in 14:8.

[14:10]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[17:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.

[17:6]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:6]  ¹² tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).

[20:9]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:9]  ¹⁴ tn The shift here to past tense reflects the Greek text.

[20:9]  ¹⁵ tn On the phrase “broad plain of the earth” BDAG 823 s.v. πλάτος states, “τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς Rv 20:9 comes fr. the OT (Da 12:2 LXX. Cp. Hab 1:6; Sir 1:3), but the sense is not clear: breadth = the broad plain of the earth is perh. meant to provide room for the countless enemies of God vs. 8, but the ‘going up’ is better suited to Satan (vs. 7) who has recently been freed, and who comes up again fr. the abyss (vs. 3).” The referent here thus appears to be a plain large enough to accommodate the numberless hoards that have drawn up for battle against the Lord Christ and his saints.

[20:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “surrounded.”

[20:9]  ¹⁷ tn On the term παρεμβολή (parembolh) BDAG 775 s.v. states, “Mostly used as a military t.t.…so always in our lit.…1. a (fortified) camp…ἡ παρεμβολὴ τῶν ἁγίων Rv 20:9 is also to be understood fr. the OT use of the word.”

[20:9]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[20:9]  ¹⁹ tn See L&N 20.45 for the translation of κατεσθίω (katesqiw) as “to destroy utterly, to consume completely.”