Revelation 9:17-18

9:17 Now ¹  this is what the horses and their riders ²  looked like in my ³  vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, ⁴  dark blue, ⁵  and sulfurous ⁶  yellow in color. ⁷  The ⁸  heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur ⁹  came out of their mouths. 9:18 A third of humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is, ¹⁰  by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths.

Revelation 19:20

19:20 Now ¹¹  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ¹²  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ¹³ 

Revelation 20:10

20:10 And the devil who deceived ¹⁴  them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, ¹⁵  where the beast and the false prophet are ¹⁶  too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 21:8

21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, ¹⁷  idol worshipers, ¹⁸  and all those who lie, their place ¹⁹  will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. ²⁰  That ²¹  is the second death.”

Genesis 19:24

19:24 Then the Lord rained down ²²  sulfur and fire ²³  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ²⁴ 

Deuteronomy 29:23

29:23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. ²⁵ 

Job 18:15

18:15 Fire resides in his tent; ²⁶ 

over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.

Psalms 11:6

11:6 May the Lord rain down ²⁷  burning coals ²⁸  and brimstone ²⁹  on the wicked!

A whirlwind is what they deserve! ³⁰ 

Isaiah 30:33

30:33 For ³¹  the burial place is already prepared; ³² 

it has been made deep and wide for the king. ³³ 

The firewood is piled high on it. ³⁴ 

The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,

will ignite it.

Isaiah 34:9

34:9 Edom’s ³⁵  streams will be turned into pitch

and her soil into brimstone;

her land will become burning pitch.

Matthew 25:41

25:41 “Then he will say ³⁶  to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

Jude 1:7

1:7 So also ³⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ³⁸  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ³⁹  in a way similar to ⁴⁰  these angels, ⁴¹  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

[9:17]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “and those seated on them.”

[9:17]  ³ tn Grk “the vision”; the Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:17]  ⁴ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

[9:17]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn On this term BDAG 446 s.v. θειώδης states, “sulphurous Rv 9:17.”

[9:17]  ⁷ sn The colors of the riders’ breastplates parallel the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur in v. 18.

[9:17]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

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

[9:18]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ τοῦ καπνοῦ καὶ τοῦ θείου τοῦ ἐκπορευομένου ἐκ τῶν στομάτων αὐτῶν (“by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths”) is taken as epexegetical (explanatory) to the phrase τῶν τριῶν πληγῶν τούτων (“these three plagues”).

[19:20]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ¹² tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ¹³ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “misled.”

[20:10]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:10]  ¹⁶ tn The verb in this clause is elided. In keeping with the previous past tenses some translations supply a past tense verb here (“were”), but in view of the future tense that follows (“they will be tormented”), a present tense verb was used to provide a transition from the previous past tense to the future tense that follows.

[21:8]  ¹⁷ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[21:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “idolaters.”

[21:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “their share.”

[21:8]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[21:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”

[19:24]  ²² tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ²³ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” This construction is a hendiadys intended to intensify the emotion.

[18:15]  ²⁶ tn This line is difficult as well. The verb, again a third feminine form, says “it dwells in his tent.” But the next part (מִבְּלִי לוֹ, mibbÿli lo) means something like “things of what are not his.” The best that can be made of the MT is “There shall live in his tent they that are not his” (referring to persons and animals; see J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 279). G. R. Driver and G. B. Gray (Job [ICC], 2:161) refer “that which is naught of his” to weeds and wild animals. M. Dahood suggested a reading מַבֶּל (mabbel) and a connection to Akkadian nablu, “fire” (cf. Ugaritic nbl). The interchange of m and n is not a problem, and the parallelism with the next line makes good sense (“Some Northwest Semitic words in Job,” Bib 38 [1957]: 312ff.). Others suggest an emendation to get “night-hag” or vampire. This suggestion, as well as Driver’s “mixed herbs,” are linked to the idea of exorcism. But if a change is to be made, Dahood’s is the most compelling.

[11:6]  ²⁷ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord rain down”), not indicative (“The Lord rains down”; see also Job 20:23). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that God will do so. In this way the psalmist seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

[11:6]  ²⁸ tc The MT reads “traps, fire, and brimstone,” but the image of God raining traps, or snares, down from the sky is bizarre and does not fit the fire and storm imagery of this verse. The noun פַּחִים (pakhim, “traps, snares”) should be emended to פַּחֲמֵי (pakhamey, “coals of [fire]”). The rare noun פֶּחָם (pekham, “coal”) occurs in Prov 26:21 and Isa 44:12; 54:16.

[11:6]  ²⁹ sn The image of God “raining down” brimstone on the objects of his judgment also appears in Gen 19:24 and Ezek 38:22.

[11:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “[may] a wind of rage [be] the portion of their cup.” The precise meaning of the rare noun זִלְעָפוֹת (zil’afot) is uncertain. It may mean “raging heat” (BDB 273 s.v. זַלְעָפָה) or simply “rage” (HALOT 272 s.v. זַלְעָפָה). If one understands the former sense, then one might translate “hot wind” (cf. NEB, NRSV). The present translation assumes the latter nuance, “a wind of rage” (the genitive is attributive) referring to a “whirlwind” symbolic of destructive judgment. In this mixed metaphor, judgment is also compared to an allotted portion of a beverage poured into one’s drinking cup (see Hab 2:15-16).

[30:33]  ³¹ tn Or “indeed.”

[30:33]  ³² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).

[30:33]  ³³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”

[30:33]  ³⁴ tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”

[34:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:41]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ³⁹ tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.

[1:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁴¹ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.