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 9:17

9:17 Now ⁶  this is what the horses and their riders ⁷  looked like in my ⁸  vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, ⁹  dark blue, ¹⁰  and sulfurous ¹¹  yellow in color. ¹²  The ¹³  heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur ¹⁴  came out of their mouths.

[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.

[9:17]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the horses and riders, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “and those seated on them.”

[9:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “the vision”; the Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:17]  ⁹ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

[9:17]  ¹⁰ tn On this term BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑακίνθινος states, “hyacinth-colored, i.e. dark blue (dark red?) w. πύρινος Rv 9:17.”

[9:17]  ¹¹ tn On this term BDAG 446 s.v. θειώδης states, “sulphurous Rv 9:17.”

[9:17]  ¹² sn The colors of the riders’ breastplates parallel the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur in v. 18.

[9:17]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:17]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”