17:15 Then 1 the angel 2 said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, 3 nations, and languages.
20:1 Then 4 I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding 5 in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
4 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
5 tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.