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1 Samuel 7
New English Translation

7 Then the people[a] of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

Further Conflict with the Philistines

2 It was quite a long time—some twenty years in all—that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people[b] of Israel longed for[c] the Lord. 3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth.[d] Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you[e] from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites[f] removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” 6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed[g] there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led[h] the people of Israel at Mizpah.

7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep[i] crying out to the Lord our[j] God so that he may save us[k] from the hand of the Philistines!” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb[l] and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.

10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel.[m] But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by[n] Israel. 11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen.[o] He named it Ebenezer,[p] saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control[q] of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 So Samuel led[r] Israel all the days of his life. 16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged[s] Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 7:1 tn Heb “men.”
  2. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
  3. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”
  4. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.
  5. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  6. 1 Samuel 7:4 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
  7. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “said.”
  8. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”
  9. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn Heb “don’t stop.”
  10. 1 Samuel 7:8 tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”
  11. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  12. 1 Samuel 7:9 tn Heb “a lamb of milk”; NAB “an unweaned lamb”; NIV “a suckling lamb”; NCV “a baby lamb.”
  13. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
  14. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “before.”
  15. 1 Samuel 7:12 tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”
  16. 1 Samuel 7:12 sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.
  17. 1 Samuel 7:14 tn Heb “hand.”
  18. 1 Samuel 7:15 tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).
  19. 1 Samuel 7:17 tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).
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1 Samuel 6
1 Samuel 8
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Job 24
New English Translation

The Apparent Indifference of God

24 “Why are times not appointed by[a] the Almighty?[b]
Why do those who know him not see his days?
2 Men[c] move boundary stones;
they seize the flock and pasture them.[d]
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey;
they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They turn the needy from the pathway,
and the poor of the land hide themselves together.[e]
5 Like[f] wild donkeys in the wilderness,
they[g] go out to their labor[h] seeking diligently for food;
the arid rift valley[i] provides[j] food for them and for their children.
6 They reap fodder[k] in the field,
and glean[l] in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked because they lack clothing;
they have no covering against the cold.
8 They are soaked by mountain rains
and huddle[m] in the rocks because they lack shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched[n] from the breast,[o]
the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.[p]
10 They go about naked, without clothing,
and go hungry while they carry the sheaves.[q]
11 They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees;[r]
they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty.[s]
12 From the city the dying[t] groan,
and the wounded[u] cry out for help,
but God charges no one with wrongdoing.[v]
13 There are those[w] who rebel against the light;
they do not know its ways
and they do not stay on its paths.
14 Before daybreak[x] the murderer rises up;
he kills the poor and the needy;
in the night he is[y] like a thief.[z]
15 And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight,
thinking,[aa] ‘No eye can see me,’
and covers his face with a mask.
16 In the dark the robber[ab] breaks into houses,[ac]
but by day they shut themselves in;[ad]
they do not know the light.[ae]
17 For all of them,[af] the morning is to them like deep darkness;
they are friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 [ag] “You say,[ah] ‘He is foam[ai] on the face of the waters;[aj]

their portion of the land is cursed
so that no one goes to their vineyard.[ak]
19 The drought[al] as well as the heat
snatch up the melted snow;[am]
so the grave[an] snatches up the sinner.[ao]
20 The womb[ap] forgets him,
the worm feasts on him,
no longer will he be remembered.
Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.
21 He preys on[aq] the barren and childless woman,[ar]
and does not treat the widow well.
22 But God[as] drags off the mighty by his power;
when God[at] rises up against him, he has no faith in his life.[au]
23 God[av] may let them rest in a feeling of security,[aw]
but he is constantly watching[ax] all their ways.[ay]
24 They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone,[az]
they are brought low[ba] like all others, and gathered in,[bb]
and like a head of grain they are cut off.’[bc]
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar

and reduce my words to nothing?”[bd]

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:1 tn The preposition מִן (min) is used to express the cause (see GKC 389 §121.f).
  2. Job 24:1 tc The LXX reads “Why are times hidden from the Almighty?” as if to say that God is not interested in the events on the earth. The MT reading is saying that God fails to set the times for judgment and vindication and makes good sense as it stands.
  3. Job 24:2 tn The line is short: “they move boundary stones.” So some commentators have supplied a subject, such as “wicked men.” The reason for its being wicked men is that to move the boundary stone was to encroach dishonestly on the lands of others (Deut 19:14; 27:17).
  4. Job 24:2 tc The LXX reads “and their shepherd.” Many commentators accept this reading. But the MT says that they graze the flocks that they have stolen. The difficulty with the MT reading is that there is no suffix on the final verb—but that is not an insurmountable difference.
  5. Job 24:4 sn Because of the violence and oppression of the wicked, the poor and needy, the widows and orphans, all are deprived of their rights and forced out of the ways and into hiding just to survive.
  6. Job 24:5 tc The verse begins with הֵן (hen), but the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac all have “like.” R. Gordis (Job, 265) takes הֵן (hen) as a pronoun “they” and supplies the comparative. The sense of the verse is clear in either case.
  7. Job 24:5 tn That is, “the poor.”
  8. Job 24:5 tc The MT has “in the working/labor of them,” or “when they labor.” Some commentators simply omit these words. Dhorme retains them and moves them to go with עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah), which he takes to mean “evening”; this gives a clause, “although they work until the evening.” Then, with many others, he takes לוֹ (lo) to be a negative and finishes the verse with “no food for the children.” Others make fewer changes in the text, and as a result do not come out with such a hopeless picture—there is some food found. The point is that they spend their time foraging for food, and they find just enough to survive, but it is a day-long activity. For Job, this shows how unrighteous the administration of the world actually is.
  9. Job 24:5 tc Based on the text critical question in the previous note, some read this as a form related to the noun עֶרֶב (ʿerev, “evening”). These same consonants occur as a verb in Isa 24:11, עָרְבָה (ʿarevah) from עָרַב (ʿarav, “become evening”). This would give the time frame of their work rather than the location, but the location provides a parallel to “wilderness.”tn The rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba, but the term normally refers only to a section of it. For the book of Job, the most likely section is that south of the Dead Sea, a section that is arid with only sparse vegetation.
  10. Job 24:5 tn The verb is not included in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation.
  11. Job 24:6 tc The word בְּלִילוֹ (belilo) means “his fodder.” It is unclear to what this refers. If the suffix is taken as a collective, then it can be translated “they gather/reap their fodder.” The early versions all have “they reap in a field which is not his” (taking it as בְּלִי לוֹ, beli lo). A conjectural emendation would change the word to בַּלַּיְלָה (ballaylah, “in the night”). But there is no reason for this.
  12. Job 24:6 tn The verbs in this verse are uncertain. In the first line “reap” is used, and that would be the work of a hired man (and certainly not done at night). The meaning of this second verb is uncertain; it has been taken to mean “glean,” which would be the task of the poor.
  13. Job 24:8 tn Heb “embrace” or “hug.”
  14. Job 24:9 tn The verb with no expressed subject is here again taken in the passive: “they snatch” becomes “[child] is snatched.”
  15. Job 24:9 tn This word is usually defined as “violence; ruin.” But elsewhere it does mean “breast” (Isa 60:16; 66:11), and that is certainly what it means here.
  16. Job 24:9 tc The MT has a very brief and strange reading: “they take as a pledge upon the poor.” This could be taken as “they take a pledge against the poor” (ESV). Kamphausen suggested that instead of עַל (ʿal, “against”) one should read עוּל (ʿul, “suckling”). This is supported by the parallelism. “They take as pledge” is also made passive here.
  17. Job 24:10 sn The point should not be missed—amidst abundant harvests, carrying sheaves about, they are still going hungry.
  18. Job 24:11 tc The Hebrew term is שׁוּרֹתָם (shurotam), which may be translated “terraces” or “olive rows.” But that would not be the proper place to have a press to press the olives and make oil. E. Dhorme (Job, 360-61) proposes on the analogy of an Arabic word that this should be read as “millstones” (which he would also write in the dual). But the argument does not come from a clean cognate, but from a possible development of words. The meaning of “olive rows” works well enough.
  19. Job 24:11 tn The final verb, a preterite with the ו (vav) consecutive, is here interpreted as a circumstantial clause.
  20. Job 24:12 tc The MT as pointed reads “from the city of men they groan.” Most commentators change one vowel in מְתִים (metim) to get מֵתִים (metim) to get the active participle, “the dying.” This certainly fits the parallelism better, although sense could be made out of the MT.
  21. Job 24:12 tn Heb “the souls of the wounded,” which here refers to the wounded themselves.
  22. Job 24:12 tc The MT has the noun תִּפְלָה (tiflah) which means “folly; tastelessness” (cf. 1:22). The verb, which normally means “to place; to put,” would then be rendered “to impute; to charge.” This is certainly a workable translation in the context. Many commentators have emended the text, changing the noun to תְּפִלָּה (tefillah, “prayer”), and so then also the verb יָשִׂים (yasim, here “charges”) to יִשְׁמַע (yishmaʿ, “hears”). It reads: “But God does not hear the prayer”—referring to the groans.
  23. Job 24:13 tn Heb “They are among those who.”
  24. Job 24:14 tn The text simply has לָאוֹר (laʾor, “at light” or “at daylight”), probably meaning just at the time of dawn.
  25. Job 24:14 tn In a few cases the jussive is used without any real sense of the jussive being present (see GKC 323 §109.k).
  26. Job 24:14 sn The point is that he is like a thief in that he works during the night, just before the daylight, when the advantage is all his and the victim is most vulnerable.
  27. Job 24:15 tn Heb “saying.”
  28. Job 24:16 tn The phrase “the robber” has been supplied in the English translation for clarification.
  29. Job 24:16 tc This is not the idea of the adulterer, but of the thief. So some commentators reverse the order and put this verse after v. 14.
  30. Job 24:16 tc The verb חִתְּמוּ (khittemu) is the Piel from the verb חָתַם (khatam, “to seal”). The verb is now in the plural, covering all the groups mentioned that work under the cover of darkness. The suggestion that they “seal,” i.e., “mark” the house they will rob, goes against the meaning of the word “seal.”
  31. Job 24:16 tc Some commentators join this very short colon to the beginning of v. 17: “they do not know the light. For together…” becomes “for together they have not known the light.”
  32. Job 24:17 tn Heb “together.”
  33. Job 24:18 tc Many commentators find vv. 18-24 difficult on the lips of Job, and so identify this unit as a misplaced part of the speech of Zophar. They describe the enormities of the wicked. But a case can also be made for retaining it in this section. Gordis thinks it could be taken as a quotation by Job of his friends’ ideas.
  34. Job 24:18 tn The verb “say” is not in the text; it is supplied here to indicate that this is a different section.
  35. Job 24:18 tn Or “is swift.”
  36. Job 24:18 sn The wicked person is described here as a spray or foam upon the waters, built up in the agitation of the waters but dying away swiftly.
  37. Job 24:18 tn The text reads, “he does not turn by the way of the vineyards.” This means that since the land is cursed, he/one does not go there. Bickell emended “the way of the vineyards” to “the treader of the vineyard” (see RSV, NRSV). This would mean that “no wine-presser would turn towards” their vineyards.
  38. Job 24:19 tn Or “dryness.” The term צִיָּה (tsiyyah) normally refers to a dry region, a wilderness or desert. Here the focus is on dryness.
  39. Job 24:19 tn Heb “the waters of the snow.”
  40. Job 24:19 tn Or “Sheol.”
  41. Job 24:19 tc Heb “The grave [] they have sinned.” The verb “snatch up/away” is understood by parallelism. If the perfect verb is maintained, the line also implies the relative pronoun, “the grave [snatches] [those who] have sinned.” If the verb is emended from the perfect to a participle by deleting or moving the ו (vav) from חטאו to חוטא, it reads “the grave [snatches] one who sins.”
  42. Job 24:20 tn Here “womb” is synecdoche, representing one’s mother.
  43. Job 24:21 tc The form in the text is the active participle, “feed; graze; shepherd.” The idea of “prey” is not natural to it. R. Gordis (Job, 270) argues that third he (ה) verbs are often by-forms of geminate verbs, and so the meaning here is more akin to רָעַע (raʿaʿ, “to crush”). The LXX seems to have read something like הֵרַע (heraʿ, “oppressed”).
  44. Job 24:21 tn Heb “the childless [woman], she does not give birth.” The verbal clause is intended to serve as a modifier here for the woman. See on subordinate verbal clauses GKC 490 §156.d, f.
  45. Job 24:22 tn God has to be the subject of this clause. None is stated in the Hebrew text, but “God” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  46. Job 24:22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “life” at the end of the line.
  47. Job 24:22 tn This line has been given a number of interpretations due to its cryptic form. The verb יָקוּם (yaqum) means “he rises up.” It probably is meant to have God as the subject, and be subordinated as a temporal clause to what follows. The words “against him” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to specify the object and indicate that “rise up” is meant in a hostile sense. The following verb וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין (veloʾ yaʾamin), by its very meaning of “and he does not believe,” cannot have God as the subject, but must refer to the wicked.
  48. Job 24:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  49. Job 24:23 tn The expression לָבֶטַח (lavetakh, “in security”) precedes the verb that it qualifies—God “allows him to take root in security.” For the meaning of the verb, see Job 8:15.
  50. Job 24:23 tn Heb “his eyes are on.”
  51. Job 24:23 sn The meaning of the verse is that God may allow the wicked to rest in comfort and security, but all the time he is watching them closely with the idea of bringing judgment on them.
  52. Job 24:24 tn The Hebrew throughout this section (vv. 18-24) interchanges the singular and the plural. Here again we have “they are exalted…but he is not.” The verse is clear nonetheless: the wicked rise high, and then suddenly they are gone.
  53. Job 24:24 tn The verb is the Hophal of the rare verb מָכַךְ (makhakh), which seems to mean “to bend; to collapse.” The text would read “they are made to collapse like all others.” There is no reason here to change “like others” just because the MT is banal. But many do, following the LXX with “like mallows.” The LXX was making a translation according to sense. R. Gordis (Job, 271) prefers “like grass.”
  54. Job 24:24 tn The verb קָפַץ (qafats) actually means “to shut in,” which does not provide exactly the idea of being gathered, not directly at least. But a change to קָטַף (qataf, “pluck”) while attractive, is not necessary.
  55. Job 24:24 sn This marks the end of the disputed section, taken here to be a quotation by Job of their sentiments.
  56. Job 24:25 tn The word אַל (ʾal, “not”) is used here substantivally (“nothing”).
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Job 23
Job 25
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Revelation 1
New English Translation

The Prologue

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ,[a] which God gave him to show his servants[b] what must happen very soon.[c] He made it clear[d] by sending his angel to his servant[e] John, 2 who then[f] testified to everything that he saw concerning the word of God and the testimony about[g] Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this[h] prophecy aloud,[i] and blessed are[j] those who hear and obey[k] the things written in it, because the time is near![l]

4 From John,[m] to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia:[n] Grace and peace to you[o] from “he who is,”[p] and who was, and who is still to come,[q] and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ—the faithful[r] witness,[s] the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free[t] from our sins at the cost of[u] his own blood 6 and has appointed[v] us as a kingdom,[w] as priests[x] serving his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever![y] Amen.

7 (Look! He is returning with the clouds,[z]
and every eye will see him,
even[aa] those who pierced him,[ab]
and all the tribes[ac] on the earth will mourn because[ad] of him.
This will certainly come to pass![ae] Amen.)[af]

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”[ag] says the Lord God—the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come—the All-Powerful![ah]

9 I, John, your brother and the one who shares[ai] with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that[aj] are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.[ak] 10 I was in the Spirit[al] on the Lord’s Day[am] when[an] I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus, Smyrna,[ao] Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 I[ap] turned to see whose voice was speaking to me,[aq] and when I did so,[ar] I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man.[as] He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt[at] around his chest. 14 His[au] head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow,[av] and his eyes were like a fiery[aw] flame. 15 His feet were like polished bronze[ax] refined[ay] in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar[az] of many waters. 16 He held[ba] seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His[bb] face shone like the sun shining at full strength. 17 When[bc] I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but[bd] he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 and the one who lives! I[be] was dead, but look, now I am alive—forever and ever—and I hold the keys of death and of Hades![bf] 19 Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things.[bg] 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this:[bh] The seven stars are the angels[bi] of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:1 tn The phrase ἀποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (apokalupsis Iēsou Christou, “the revelation of Jesus Christ”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“the revelation about Jesus Christ”), subjective genitive (“the revelation from Jesus Christ”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). In 1:1 and 22:16 it is clear that Jesus has sent his angel to proclaim the message to John; thus the message is from Christ, and this would be a subjective genitive. On a broader scale, though, the revelation is about Christ, so this would be an objective genitive. One important point to note is that the phrase under consideration is best regarded as the title of the book and therefore refers to the whole of the work in all its aspects. This fact favors considering this as a plenary genitive.
  2. Revelation 1:1 tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). A good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
  3. Revelation 1:1 tn BDAG 992-93 s.v. τάχος has “quickly, at once, without delay Ac 10:33 D; 12:7; 17:15 D; 22:18; 1 Cl 48:1; 63:4…soon, in a short time…Rv 1:1; 22:6…shortly Ac 25:4.”
  4. Revelation 1:1 tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).
  5. Revelation 1:1 tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.
  6. Revelation 1:2 tn “Then” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to make the chronological succession clear in the translation.
  7. Revelation 1:2 tn The genitive phrase “about Jesus Christ” is taken as an objective genitive.
  8. Revelation 1:3 tn The word “this” is used to translate the Greek article τῆς (tēs), bringing out its demonstrative force.
  9. Revelation 1:3 tn The word “aloud” has been supplied to indicate that in the original historical setting reading would usually refer to reading out loud in public rather than silently to oneself.
  10. Revelation 1:3 tn The words “blessed are” are repeated from the beginning of this verse for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
  11. Revelation 1:3 tn Grk “keep.” L&N 36.19 has “to continue to obey orders or commandments—‘to obey, to keep commandments, obedience.’”
  12. Revelation 1:3 sn The time refers to the time when the things prophesied would happen.
  13. Revelation 1:4 tn Grk “John.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
  14. Revelation 1:4 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
  15. Revelation 1:4 tn It is probable that the ὑμῖν (humin) applies to both elements of the greeting, i.e., to both grace and peace.
  16. Revelation 1:4 tc The earliest and best mss (P18vid א A C P 2050 al lat sy co) lack the term “God” (θεοῦ, theou) between “from” (ἀπό, apo) and “he who is” (ὁ ὤν, ho ōn). Its inclusion, as supported by the bulk of the Byzantine witnesses, is clearly secondary and a scribal attempt to achieve two things: (1) to make explicit the referent in the passage, namely, God, and (2) to smooth out the grammar. The preposition “from” in Greek required a noun in the genitive case. But here in Rev 1:4 the words following the preposition “from” (ἀπό) are in another case, i.e., the nominative. There are two principal ways in which to deal with this grammatical anomaly. First, it could be a mistake arising from someone who just did not know Greek very well, or as a Jew, was heavily influenced by a Semitic form of Greek. Both of these unintentional errors are unlikely here. Commenting on this ExSyn 63 argues: “Either of these is doubtful here because (1) such a flagrant misunderstanding of the rudiments of Greek would almost surely mean that the author could not compose in Greek, yet the Apocalypse itself argues against this; (2) nowhere else does the Seer [i.e., John] use a nom. immediately after a preposition (in fact, he uses ἀπό 32 times with the gen. immediately following).” The passage appears to be an allusion to Exod 3:14 (in the LXX) where God refers to himself as “he who is” (ὁ ὤν), the same wording in Greek as here in Rev 1:4. Thus, it appears that John is wanting to leave the divine name untouched (perhaps to allude to God’s immutability, or as a pointer to the Old Testament as the key to unlocking the meaning of this book), irrespective of what it “looks” like grammatically. The translation has placed the “he who is” in quotation marks to indicate to the reader that the syntactical awkwardness is intentional. (For further comments, see ExSyn 63).
  17. Revelation 1:4 tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.d states: “The expr. εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ‘ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος’ Rv 1:4 is quite extraordinary. It may be an interpretation of the name Yahweh already current, or an attempt to show reverence for the divine name by preserving it unchanged, or simply one more of the grammatical peculiarities so frequent in Rv.”
  18. Revelation 1:5 tn Or “Jesus Christ—the faithful one, the witness…” Some take ὁ πιστός (ho pistos) as a second substantive in relation to ὁ μάρτυς (ho martus). In the present translation, however, ὁ πιστός was taken as an adjective in attributive position to ὁ μάρτυς. The idea of martyrdom and faithfulness are intimately connected. See BDAG 820 s.v. πιστός 1.a.α: “ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου Rv 2:13 (μάρτυς 3); in this ‘book of martyrs’ Christ is ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς (καὶ ὁ ἀληθινός) 1:5; 3:14; cp. 19:11 (the combination of ἀληθινός and πιστός in the last two passages is like 3 Macc 2:11). Cp. Rv 17:14.”
  19. Revelation 1:5 sn The Greek term translated witness can mean both “witness” and “martyr.”
  20. Revelation 1:5 tc The reading “set free” (λύσαντι, lusanti) has better ms support (P18 א A C 1611 2050 2329 2351 MA sy) than its rival, λούσαντι (lousanti, “washed”; found in P 1006 1841 1854 2053 2062 MK lat bo). Internally, it seems that the reading “washed” could have arisen in at least one of three ways: (1) as an error of hearing (both “released” and “washed” are pronounced similarly in Greek); (2) an error of sight (both “released” and “washed” look very similar—a difference of only one letter—which could have resulted in a simple error during the copying of a ms); (3) through scribal inability to appreciate that the Hebrew preposition ב can be used with a noun to indicate the price paid for something. Since the author of Revelation is influenced significantly by a Semitic form of Greek (e.g., 13:10), and since the Hebrew preposition “in” (ב) can indicate the price paid for something, and is often translated with the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) in the LXX, the author may have tried to communicate by the use of ἐν the idea of a price paid for something. That is, John was trying to say that Christ delivered us at the price of his own blood. This whole process, however, may have been lost on a later scribe, who being unfamiliar with Hebrew, found the expression “delivered in his blood” too difficult, and noticing the obvious similarities between λύσαντι and λούσαντι, assumed an error and then proceeded to change the text to “washed in his blood”—a thought more tolerable in his mind. Both readings, of course, are true to scripture; the current question is what the author wrote in this verse.tn Or “and released us” (L&N 37.127).
  21. Revelation 1:5 tn The style here is somewhat Semitic, with the use of the ἐν (en) + the dative to mean “at the price of.” The addition of “own” in the English is stylistic and is an attempt to bring out the personal nature of the statement and the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ death—a frequent refrain in the Apocalypse.
  22. Revelation 1:6 tn The verb ποιέω (poieō) can indicate appointment or assignment rather than simply “make” or “do.” See Mark 3:14 (L&N 37.106).
  23. Revelation 1:6 tn See BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a for the idea of “he made us a kingdom,” which was translated as “he appointed us (to be or function) as a kingdom” (see the note on the word “appointed” earlier in the verse).
  24. Revelation 1:6 tn Grk “a kingdom, priests.” The term ἱερεῖς (hiereis) is either in apposition to βασιλείαν (basileian) or as a second complement to the object “us” (ἡμᾶς, hēmas). The translation retains this ambiguity.
  25. Revelation 1:6 tc Both the longer reading τῶν αἰώνων (tōn aiōnōn, “to the ages of the ages” or, more idiomatically, “for ever and ever”; found in א C M) and the shorter (“for ever”; found in P18 A P 2050 bo) have good ms support. The author uses the longer expression (εἰς [τοὺς] αἰῶνας [τῶν] αἰώνων, eis [tous] aiōnas [tōn] aiōnōn) in every other instance of αἰών in Revelation, twelve passages in all (1:18; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 14:11; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5). Thus, on the one hand, the style of the author is consistent, while on the other hand, the scribes may have been familiar with such a stylistic feature, causing them to add the words here. The issues are more complex than can be presented here; the longer reading, however, is probably authentic (the shorter reading arising from accidental omission of the genitive phrase due to similarity with the preceding words).
  26. Revelation 1:7 sn An allusion to Dan 7:13.
  27. Revelation 1:7 tn Here καί (kai) was translated as ascensive.
  28. Revelation 1:7 sn An allusion to Zech 12:10.
  29. Revelation 1:7 tn In this context, tribes (φυλαί, phulai) could also be translated as “nations” or “peoples” (L&N 11.56).
  30. Revelation 1:7 tn The conjunction ἐπί (epi) is most likely causal here. The people who crucified him are those of every tribe on the earth and they will mourn because he comes as judge.
  31. Revelation 1:7 tn Grk “Yes, Amen.” The expression “This will certainly come to pass” is an attempt to capture the force of the juxtaposition of the Greek ναί (nai) and the Hebrew ἀμήν (amēn). See L&N 69.1.
  32. Revelation 1:7 sn These lines are placed in parentheses because they form an aside to the main argument.
  33. Revelation 1:8 tc The shorter reading “Omega” (ὦ, ō) has superior ms evidence (א1 A C 1611) to the longer reading which includes “the beginning and the end” (ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος or ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος, archē kai telos or hē archē kai to telos), found in א*,2 1854 2050 2329 2351 MA lat bo. There is little reason why a scribe would have deleted the words, but their clarifying value and the fact that they harmonize with 21:6 indicate that they are a secondary addition to the text.
  34. Revelation 1:8 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π.…Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
  35. Revelation 1:9 tn The translation attempts to bring out the verbal idea in συγκοινωνός (sunkoinōnos, “co-sharer”); John was suffering for his faith at the time he wrote this.
  36. Revelation 1:9 tn The prepositional phrase ἐν ᾿Ιησοῦ (en Iēsou) could be taken with ὑπομονῇ (hupomonē) as the translation does or with the more distant συγκοινωνός (sunkoinōnos), in which case the translation would read “your brother and the one who shares with you in Jesus in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance.”
  37. Revelation 1:9 tn The phrase “about Jesus” has been translated as an objective genitive.
  38. Revelation 1:10 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).
  39. Revelation 1:10 tn Concerning the phrase κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ (kuriakē hēmera) BDAG 576 s.v. κυριακός states: “pert. to belonging to the Lord, the Lord’s…κ. ἡμέρᾳ the Lord’s day (Kephal. I 192, 1; 193, 31…) i.e. certainly Sunday (so in Mod. Gk….) Rv 1:10 (WStott, NTS 12, ’65, 70-75).”
  40. Revelation 1:10 tn The conjunction καί (kai) is not introducing a coordinate thought, but one that is logically subordinate to the main verb ἐγενόμην (egenomēn).
  41. Revelation 1:11 tn Grk “and to Smyrna.” For stylistic reasons the conjunction καί (kai) and the preposition εἰς (eis) have not been translated before the remaining elements of the list. In lists with more than two elements contemporary English generally does not repeat the conjunction except between the next to last and last elements.
  42. Revelation 1:12 tn Throughout the translation John’s use of καί (kai) often reflects the varied usage of the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav). A clause which καί introduces has been translated in terms of its semantic relationship to the clause that preceded it. If the καί seemed redundant, however, it was left untranslated; that is the case in this verse.
  43. Revelation 1:12 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.”
  44. Revelation 1:12 tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrephō) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.
  45. Revelation 1:13 tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (huios tou anthrōpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).
  46. Revelation 1:13 tn Or “a wide golden sash,” but this would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).
  47. Revelation 1:14 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  48. Revelation 1:14 tn The clause, “even as white as snow” seems to heighten the preceding clause and is so understood in this ascensive sense (“even”) in the translation.
  49. Revelation 1:14 tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
  50. Revelation 1:15 tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, chalkolibanō), which appears nowhere else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 2:18), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 2:18 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.
  51. Revelation 1:15 tn Or “that has been heated in a furnace until it glows.”
  52. Revelation 1:15 tn Grk “sound,” but the idea is closer to the roar of a waterfall or rapids.
  53. Revelation 1:16 tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
  54. Revelation 1:16 tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  55. Revelation 1:17 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  56. Revelation 1:17 tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.
  57. Revelation 1:18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  58. Revelation 1:18 tn Concerning “Hades” BDAG 19 s.v. ᾅδης 1 and 2 states: “Orig. proper noun, god of the nether world, ‘Hades’, then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead, Ac 2:27, 31 (Ps 16:10; Eccl 9:10; PGM 1, 179; 16, 8; Philo, Mos. 1, 195; Jos., Bell. 1, 596, Ant. 6, 332). Of Jonah’s fish ἐκ τοῦ κατωτάτου ᾅδου. In the depths, contrasted w. heaven ἕως (τοῦ) ᾅδου Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15 (PsSol 15:10; cf.; Is 14:11, 15); ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ 16:23; ἐν ῝Αιδου ApcPt Rainer. Accessible by gates (but the pl. is also used [e.g. Hom., X., Ael. Aristid. 47, 20 K.=23 p. 450 D.] when only one gate is meant), hence πύλαι ᾅδου (Il. 5, 646; Is 38:10; Wsd 16:13; 3 Macc 5:51; Pss. Sol. 16:2.—Lucian, Menipp. 6 the magicians can open τοῦ ῝Αιδου τὰς πύλας and conduct people in and out safely) Mt 16:18…locked ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου Rv 1:18 (the genitives are either obj. [Ps.-Apollod. 3, 12, 6, 10 Aeacus, the son of Zeus holds the κλεῖς τοῦ ῝Αιδου; SEG VIII, 574, 3 (III ad) τῷ τὰς κλεῖδας ἔχοντι τῶν καθ᾿ ῝Αιδου (restored)] or possess.; in the latter case death and Hades are personif.; s. 2)…Hades personif.…w. θάνατος (cf. Is 28:15; Job 38:17…) Rv 6:8; 20:13f.” sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).
  59. Revelation 1:19 tn Grk “Therefore write the things that you saw, and the things that are, and the things that will take place after these things.” Verse 19 could also be translated (taking καί…καί [kai…kai] as “both…and”): “Therefore write what you have seen, both what things currently are and what is going to happen after these things.” The structure of this verse is debated.
  60. Revelation 1:20 tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.
  61. Revelation 1:20 tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”
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