Revelation 8:1-11

Context

The Seventh Seal

8:1 Now¹ when the Lamb² opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2 Then³ I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 8:3 Another⁴ angel holding⁵ a golden censer⁶ came and was stationed⁷ at the altar. A⁸ large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. 8:4 The⁹ smoke coming from the incense,¹⁰ along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 8:5 Then¹¹ the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring,¹² flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

8:6 Now¹³ the seven angels holding¹⁴ the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

8:7 The¹⁵ first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that¹⁶ a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

8:8 Then¹⁷ the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A¹⁸ third of the sea became blood, 8:9 and a third of the creatures¹⁹ living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed.²⁰

8:10 Then²¹ the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky;²² it landed²³ on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 8:11 (Now²⁴ the name of the star is²⁵ Wormwood.)²⁶ So²⁷ a third of the waters became wormwood,²⁸ and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.²⁹

[8:1] ¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the resumption of the topic of the seals.

[8:1] ²tn Grk “he”; the referent (the Lamb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:2] ³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:3] ⁴tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:3] ⁵tn Grk “having.”

[8:3] ⁶sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.

[8:3] ⁷tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (Jestaqh) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.

[8:3] ⁸tn 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.

[8:4] ⁹tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:4] ¹⁰tn The expression τῶν θυμιαμάτων (twn qumiamatwn) is taken as a “genitive of producer,” i.e., the noun in the genitive produces the head noun.

[8:5] ¹¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:5] ¹²tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”

[8:6] ¹³tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[8:6] ¹⁴tn Grk “having.”

[8:7] ¹⁵tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:7] ¹⁶tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” because what follows has the logical force of a result clause.

[8:8] ¹⁷tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:8] ¹⁸tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[8:9] ¹⁹tn Or “a third of the living creatures in the sea”; Grk “the third of the creatures which were in the sea, the ones having life.”

[8:9] ²⁰tn On the term translated “completely destroyed,” L&N 20.40 states, “to cause the complete destruction of someone or something – ‘to destroy utterly.’ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθάρησαν ‘a third of the ships were completely destroyed’ Re 8:9.”

[8:10] ²¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:10] ²²tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[8:10] ²³tn Grk “fell.”

[8:11] ²⁴tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” in keeping with the parenthetical nature of this remark.

[8:11] ²⁵tn Grk “is called,” but this is somewhat redundant in contemporary English.

[8:11] ²⁶sn Wormwood refers to a particularly bitter herb with medicinal value. According to L&N 3.21, “The English term wormwood is derived from the use of the plant as a medicine to kill intestinal worms.” This remark about the star’s name is parenthetical in nature.

[8:11] ²⁷tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the star falling on the waters.

[8:11] ²⁸tn That is, terribly bitter (see the note on “Wormwood” earlier in this verse).

[8:11] ²⁹tn Grk “and many of the men died from these waters because they were bitter.”