Revelation 8:1-6

The Seventh Seal

8:1 Now ¹  when the Lamb ²  opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2 Then ³  I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 8:3 Another ⁴  angel holding ⁵  a golden censer ⁶  came and was stationed ⁷  at the altar. A ⁸  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 The ⁹  smoke coming from the incense, ¹⁰  along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 8:5 Then ¹¹  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 Now ¹³  the seven angels holding ¹⁴  the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

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

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

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

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

[8:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “having.”

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

[8:3]  ⁷ tn 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]  ⁸ 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.

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

[8:4]  ¹⁰ tn 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]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:5]  ¹² tn 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]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[8:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “having.”