Revelation 6:9-17

6:9 Now ¹  when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed ²  because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They ³  cried out with a loud voice, ⁴  “How long, ⁵  Sovereign Master, ⁶  holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each ⁷  of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached ⁸  of both their fellow servants ⁹  and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.

6:12 Then ¹⁰  I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge ¹¹  earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, ¹²  and the full moon became blood red; ¹³  6:13 and the stars in the sky ¹⁴  fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping ¹⁵  its unripe figs ¹⁶  when shaken by a fierce ¹⁷  wind. 6:14 The sky ¹⁸  was split apart ¹⁹  like a scroll being rolled up, ²⁰  and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then ²¹  the kings of the earth, the ²²  very important people, the generals, ²³  the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave ²⁴  and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They ²⁵  said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, ²⁶  6:17 because the great day of their ²⁷  wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” ²⁸ 

[6:9]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new and somewhat different topic after the introduction of the four riders.

[6:9]  ² tn Or “murdered.” See the note on the word “butcher” in 6:4.

[6:10]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “voice, saying”; the participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[6:10]  ⁵ tn The expression ἕως πότε (ews pote) was translated “how long.” Cf. BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.γ.

[6:10]  ⁶ tn The Greek term here is δεσπότης (despoths; see L&N 37.63).

[6:11]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).

[6:11]  ⁹ tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[6:12]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”

[6:12]  ¹² tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).

[6:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).

[6:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “in heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”). The genitive τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (tou ouranou) is taken as a genitive of place.

[6:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “throws [off]”; the indicative verb has been translated as a participle due to English style.

[6:13]  ¹⁶ tn L&N 3.37 states, “a fig produced late in the summer season (and often falling off before it ripens) – ‘late fig.’ ὡς συκὴ βάλλει τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου μεγάλου σειομένη ‘as the fig tree sheds its late figs when shaken by a great wind’ Re 6:13. In the only context in which ὄλυνθος occurs in the NT (Re 6:13), one may employ an expression such as ‘unripe fig’ or ‘fig which ripens late.’”

[6:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “great wind.”

[6:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”

[6:14]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀποχωρίζω states, “ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπεχωρίσθη the sky was split Rv 6:14.” Although L&N 79.120 gives the meaning “the sky disappeared like a rolled-up scroll” here, a scroll that is rolled up does not “disappear,” and such a translation could be difficult for modern readers to understand.

[6:14]  ²⁰ tn On this term BDAG 317 s.v. ἑλίσσω states, “ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενον like a scroll that is rolled up…Rv 6:14.”

[6:15]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:15]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated; nor is it 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.

[6:15]  ²³ tn Grk “chiliarchs.” A chiliarch was normally a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

[6:15]  ²⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ²⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:16]  ²⁶ tn It is difficult to say where this quotation ends. The translation ends it after “withstand it” at the end of v. 17, but it is possible that it should end here, after “Lamb” at the end of v. 16. If it ends after “Lamb,” v. 17 is a parenthetical explanation by the author.

[6:17]  ²⁷ tc Most mss (A Ï bo) change the pronoun “their” to “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou) in order to bring the text in line with the mention of the one seated on the throne in the immediately preceding verse, and to remove the ambiguity about whose wrath is in view here. The reading αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”) is well supported by א C 1611 1854 2053 2329 2344 pc latt sy. On both internal and external grounds, it should be regarded as original.

[6:17]  ²⁸ tn The translation “to withstand (it)” for ἵστημι (Jisthmi) is based on the imagery of holding one’s ground in a military campaign or an attack (BDAG 482 s.v. B.4).