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Revelation 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 8[a]

The Seven Trumpets. 1 When he broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven[b] for about half an hour.(A) 2 And I saw that the seven angels who stood before God were given seven trumpets.(B)

The Gold Censer. 3 Another angel came and stood at the altar,[c] holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne.(C) 4 The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with burning coals from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. There were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.(D)

The First Four Trumpets. 6 The seven angels who were holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.(E)

7 When the first one blew his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, which was hurled down to the earth. A third of the land was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all green grass.[d]

8 [e]When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a large burning mountain was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,(F) 9 a third of the creatures living in the sea[f] died, and a third of the ships were wrecked.

10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a large star burning like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.(G) 11 The star was called “Wormwood,”[g] and a third of all the water turned to wormwood. Many people died from this water, because it was made bitter.(H)

12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them became dark. The day lost its light for a third of the time, as did the night.(I)

13 Then I looked again and heard an eagle flying high overhead cry out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe[h] to the inhabitants of the earth from the rest of the trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to blow!”

Footnotes

  1. 8:1–13 The breaking of the seventh seal produces at first silence and then seven symbolic disasters, each announced by a trumpet blast, of which the first four form a unit as did the first four seals. A minor liturgy (Rev 8:3–5) is enclosed by a vision of seven angels (Rev 8:2, 6). Then follow the first four trumpet blasts, each heralding catastrophes modeled on the plagues of Egypt affecting the traditional prophetic third (cf. Ez 5:12) of the earth, sea, fresh water, and stars (Rev 8:7–12). Finally, there is a vision of an eagle warning of the last three trumpet blasts (Rev 8:13).
  2. 8:1 Silence in heaven: as in Zep 1:7, a prelude to the eschatological woes that are to follow; cf. Introduction.
  3. 8:3 Altar: there seems to be only one altar in the heavenly temple, corresponding to the altar of holocausts in Rev 6:9, and here to the altar of incense in Jerusalem; cf. also Rev 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7.
  4. 8:7 This woe resembles the seventh plague of Egypt (Ex 9:23–24); cf. Jl 3:3.
  5. 8:8–11 The background of these two woes is the first plague of Egypt (Ex 7:20–21).
  6. 8:9 Creatures living in the sea: literally, “creatures in the sea that had souls.”
  7. 8:11 Wormwood: an extremely bitter and malignant plant symbolizing the punishment God inflicts on the ungodly; cf. Jer 9:12–14; 23:15.
  8. 8:13 Woe! Woe! Woe: each of the three woes pronounced by the angel represents a separate disaster; cf. Rev 9:12; 11:14. The final woe, released by the seventh trumpet blast, includes the plagues of Rev 16.
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Revelation 8
New English Translation

The Seventh Seal

8 Now[a] when the Lamb[b] opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then[c] I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another[d] angel holding[e] a golden censer[f] came and was stationed[g] at the altar. A[h] 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. 4 The[i] smoke coming from the incense,[j] along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then[k] 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,[l] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

6 Now[m] the seven angels holding[n] the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

7 The[o] first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that[p] 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 Then[q] the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A[r] third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures[s] living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed.[t]

10 Then[u] the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky;[v] it landed[w] on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 (Now[x] the name of the star is[y] Wormwood.)[z] So[aa] a third of the waters became wormwood,[ab] and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.[ac]

12 Then[ad] the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day[ae] and for a third of the night likewise. 13 Then[af] I looked, and I heard an[ag] eagle[ah] flying directly overhead,[ai] 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!”[aj]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the resumption of the topic of the seals.
  2. Revelation 8:1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the Lamb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Revelation 8:2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  4. Revelation 8:3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  5. Revelation 8:3 tn Grk “having.”
  6. Revelation 8:3 sn A golden censer was a bowl in which incense was burned. The imagery suggests the OT role of the priest.
  7. Revelation 8:3 tn The verb “to station” was used to translate ἑστάθη (hestathē) because it connotes the idea of purposeful arrangement in English, which seems to be the idea in the Greek.
  8. Revelation 8:3 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.
  9. Revelation 8:4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  10. Revelation 8:4 tn The expression τῶν θυμιαμάτων (tōn thumiamatōn) is taken as a “genitive of producer,” i.e., the noun in the genitive produces the head noun.
  11. Revelation 8:5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  12. Revelation 8:5 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?…).”
  13. Revelation 8:6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
  14. Revelation 8:6 tn Grk “having.”
  15. Revelation 8:7 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  16. Revelation 8:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” because what follows has the logical force of a result clause.
  17. Revelation 8:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  18. Revelation 8:8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  19. Revelation 8:9 tn 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.”
  20. Revelation 8:9 tn 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.”
  21. Revelation 8:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  22. Revelation 8:10 tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
  23. Revelation 8:10 tn Grk “fell.”
  24. Revelation 8:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” in keeping with the parenthetical nature of this remark.
  25. Revelation 8:11 tn Grk “is called,” but this is somewhat redundant in contemporary English.
  26. Revelation 8:11 sn 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.
  27. Revelation 8:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the star falling on the waters.
  28. Revelation 8:11 tn That is, terribly bitter (see the note on “Wormwood” earlier in this verse).
  29. Revelation 8:11 tn Grk “and many of the men died from these waters because they were bitter.”
  30. Revelation 8:12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  31. Revelation 8:12 tn Grk “the day did not shine [with respect to] the third of it.”
  32. Revelation 8:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
  33. Revelation 8:13 tn Grk “one eagle.”
  34. Revelation 8:13 tc MA reads “angel” (ἀγγέλου, angelou) instead of “eagle” (ἀετοῦ, aetou), a reading strongly supported by א A 046 MK 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.
  35. Revelation 8:13 tn Concerning the word μεσουράνημα (mesouranēma), 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.”
  36. Revelation 8:13 tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.
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