Revelation 8:13

8:13 Then ¹  I looked, and I heard an ²  eagle ³  flying directly overhead, ⁴  proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!” ⁵ 

Revelation 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ⁶  a door standing open in heaven! ⁷  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ⁸  like a trumpet ⁹  said: “Come up here so that ¹⁰  I can show you what must happen after these things.”

[8:13]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:13]  ² tn Grk “one eagle.”

[8:13]  ³ tc Ï^A reads “angel” (ἀγγέλου, angelou) instead of “eagle” (ἀετοῦ, aetou), a reading strongly supported by {א A 046 Ï^K and several versions}. On external grounds, ἀετοῦ is clearly the superior reading. ἀγγέλου could have arisen inadvertently due to similarities in spelling or sound between ἀετοῦ and ἀγγέλου. It may also have been intentional in order to bring this statement in line with 14:6 where an angel is mentioned as the one flying in midair. This seems a more likely reason, strengthened by the facts that the book only mentions eagles two other times (4:7; 12:14). Further, the immediate as well as broad context is replete with references to angels.

[8:13]  ⁴ tn Concerning the word μεσουράνημα (mesouranhma), L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’ εἶδον, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἁετοῦ πετομένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι ‘I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying overhead in the sky’ Re 8:13.”

[8:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[4:1]  ⁹ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.