Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ¹ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ² 

and at the cost of your own blood ³  you have purchased ⁴  for God

persons ⁵  from every tribe, language, ⁶  people, and nation.

Revelation 7:9

7:9 After these things I looked, and here was ⁷  an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, ⁸  people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.

[5:9]  ¹ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ² tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[7:9]  ⁷ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.