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The Seventh Seal

Now[a] when the Lamb[b] opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then[c] I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 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. The[i] smoke coming from the incense,[j] along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 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.

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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?…).”

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.(A) And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.(B)

Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne.(C) And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.(D) Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.(E)

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