天上的宝座

这些事以后,我观看,看哪,天上有一个敞开的门。我先前所听见的,那如同号角对我说话的声音就说:“你上到这里来!我要把此后必须发生的事指示给你。”

我立刻就在灵里了,看哪,有一个宝座安放在天上,有一位坐在宝座上。 坐着的那一位,[a]看起来仿佛碧玉和红宝石;又有一道彩虹[b]围着宝座,看起来仿佛绿宝石。 座位[c]的周围,还有二十四个座位[d][e]在那些宝座上,坐着二十四位长老,身穿白衣,头戴金冠冕; 从宝座中发出闪电、声音和雷鸣;在宝座前,有七支燃烧着的火把,就是神的七个灵; 宝座前面,好像玻璃海,仿佛水晶;在宝座中间和宝座周围,有四个活物,遍体前后布满眼睛。 第一个活物仿佛狮子,第二个活物仿佛牛犊,第三个活物有像人一样的脸,第四个活物仿佛飞翔的鹰。 那四个活物,各个都有六个翅膀,遍体内外都布满了眼睛。他们日夜不停地[f]说:

“圣哉!圣哉!圣哉![g]
主、神、全能者,
昔在、今在、将要来临的[h]那一位!”

每当四个活物把荣耀、尊贵和感谢归给坐在宝座上、活到永永远远的那一位时, 10 二十四位长老就俯伏在坐宝座的那一位面前,敬拜活到永永远远的那一位,并且把自己的冠冕放在宝座前,说:

11 “我们的主、我们的神哪[i]
你配接受荣耀、尊贵和权能,
因为你创造了万有;
万有是因着你的旨意而存在、被创造的。”

Footnotes

  1. 启示录 4:3 有古抄本没有“坐着的那一位,”。
  2. 启示录 4:3 彩虹——或译作“光轮”或“光环”。
  3. 启示录 4:4 座位——原文直译“宝座”。
  4. 启示录 4:4 座位——原文直译“宝座”。
  5. 启示录 4:4 有古抄本附“我看见”。
  6. 启示录 4:8 不停地——或译作“不歇息地”。
  7. 启示录 4:8 有古抄本重复“圣哉!”9次。
  8. 启示录 4:8 将要来临的——或译作“以后永在的”。
  9. 启示录 4:11 我们的主、我们的神哪——有古抄本作“主啊”;另有古抄本附“那位神圣的啊”。

Adoração no céu

Depois disso, tive outra visão e vi uma porta aberta no céu. E a voz que parecia o som de uma trombeta e que antes havia falado comigo disse:

— Suba aqui, e eu mostrarei a você o que precisa acontecer depois disso.

Num instante fui dominado pelo Espírito de Deus. E ali no céu estava um trono com alguém sentado nele. O seu rosto brilhava como brilham as pedras de jaspe e sárdio, e em volta do trono havia um arco-íris que brilhava como uma esmeralda. Ao redor do trono havia outros vinte e quatro tronos, nos quais estavam sentados vinte e quatro líderes, vestidos de branco e com coroas de ouro na cabeça. Do trono saíam relâmpagos, estrondos e trovões. Diante dele havia sete tochas acesas, que são os sete espíritos de Deus. E em frente do trono havia uma coisa parecida com um mar de vidro, claro como cristal.

Em volta do trono, em cada um dos seus lados, estavam quatro seres vivos, cobertos de olhos, na frente e atrás. O primeiro desses seres parecia um leão. O segundo parecia um touro. O terceiro tinha a cara parecida com a de um ser humano. E o quarto parecia uma águia voando. Cada um desses quatro seres vivos tinha seis asas, que estavam cobertas de olhos nos dois lados. E dia e noite não paravam de cantar assim:

“Santo, santo, santo
é o Senhor Deus, o Todo-Poderoso,
    que era, que é e que há de vir.”

Cada vez que os quatro seres vivos cantavam hinos de glória, honra e agradecimento ao que está sentado no trono e que vive para todo o sempre, 10 os vinte e quatro líderes caíam de joelhos diante dele e o adoravam. Atiravam as suas coroas diante do trono e diziam:

11 “Senhor nosso e nosso Deus!
Tu és digno de receber glória,
    honra e poder,
pois criaste todas as coisas;
por tua vontade elas foram criadas
    e existem.”

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

After these things I looked, and there was[a] a door standing open in heaven![b] And the first voice I had heard speaking to me[c] like a trumpet[d] said: “Come up here so that[e] I can show you what must happen after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit,[f] and[g] a throne was standing[h] in heaven with someone seated on it! And the one seated on it was like jasper[i] and carnelian[j] in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald[k] encircled the throne. In[l] a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were[m] dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns[n] on their heads. From[o] the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring[p] and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God,[q] were burning in front of the throne and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal.[r]

In[s] the middle of the throne[t] and around the throne were four living creatures[u] full of eyes in front and in back. The[v] first living creature was like a lion, the[w] second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying. Each one of the four living creatures had six wings[x] and was full of eyes all around and inside.[y] They never rest day or night, saying:[z]

Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful,[aa]
Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”

And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor,[ab] and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground[ac] before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns[ad] before his[ae] throne, saying:

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
since you created all things,
and because of your will they existed and were created!”[af]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 4:1 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).
  2. Revelation 4:1 tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
  3. Revelation 4:1 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 (metemou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”
  4. Revelation 4:1 sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.
  5. Revelation 4:1 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.
  6. Revelation 4:2 tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).
  7. Revelation 4:2 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).
  8. Revelation 4:2 tn BDAG 537 s.v. κεῖμαι 2 gives the translation “stand” for the term in this verse.
  9. Revelation 4:3 tn Grk “jasper stone.”sn Jasper was a semiprecious gemstone, probably green in color (L&N 2.30).
  10. Revelation 4:3 sn Carnelian was a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).
  11. Revelation 4:3 tn Or “a rainbow emerald-like in appearance.”
  12. Revelation 4:4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  13. Revelation 4:4 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were” to indicate the connection to the preceding material.
  14. Revelation 4:4 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
  15. Revelation 4:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  16. Revelation 4:5 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?…).”
  17. Revelation 4:5 sn Some interpret the seven spirits of God as angelic beings, while others see them as a reference to the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit.
  18. Revelation 4:6 tn This could refer to rock crystal, but it is possible this refers to ice (an older meaning). See BDAG 571 s.v. κρύσταλλος.
  19. Revelation 4:6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  20. Revelation 4:6 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
  21. Revelation 4:6 tn On the meaning of ζῴον (zōon) BDAG 431 s.v. 2 states, “Of the four peculiar beings at God’s throne, whose description Rv 4:6-9 reminds one of the ζῷα in Ezk 1:5ff, the cherubim. S. also Rv 5:6, 8, 11, 14; 6:1, 3, 5-7; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4.”
  22. Revelation 4:7 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  23. Revelation 4:7 tn Both here and before the phrase “the third,” καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
  24. Revelation 4:8 tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.
  25. Revelation 4:8 tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (esōthen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.
  26. Revelation 4:8 tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”
  27. Revelation 4:8 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…() κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π.…Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”sn A quotation from (or an allusion to) Isa 6:3.
  28. Revelation 4:9 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
  29. Revelation 4:10 tn Grk “the twenty-four elders fall down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
  30. Revelation 4:10 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
  31. Revelation 4:10 tn The pronoun “his” is understood from the demonstrative force of the article τοῦ (tou) before θρόνου (thronou).
  32. Revelation 4:11 tc The past tense of “they existed” (ἦσαν, ēsan) and the order of the expression “they existed and were created” seems backwards both logically and chronologically. The text as it stands is the more difficult reading and seems to have given rise to codex A omitting the final “they were created,” 2329 replacing “they existed” (ἦσαν) with “have come into being” (ἐγένοντο, egeneto), and 046 adding οὐκ (ouk, “not”) before ἦσαν (“they did not exist, [but were created]”). Several mss (1854 2050 MA sa) also attempt to alleviate the problem by replacing ἦσαν with “they are” (εἰσιν, eisin).