Wahyu 1:1

The Prologue

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, ¹  which God gave him to show his servants ²  what must happen very soon. ³  He made it clear ⁴  by sending his angel to his servant ⁵  John,

Wahyu 1:9

1:9 I, John, your brother and the one who shares ⁶  with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that ⁷  are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. ⁸ 

Wahyu 3:1

To the Church in Sardis

3:1 “To ⁹  the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: ¹⁰ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹¹  the one who holds ¹²  the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation ¹³  that you are alive, but ¹⁴  in reality ¹⁵  you are dead.

Wahyu 5:8

5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ¹⁶  before the Lamb. Each ¹⁷  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ¹⁸ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn The phrase ἀποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (ajpokaluyi" Ihsou Cristou, “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.

[1:1]  ² 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 not 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.). The most accurate 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.

[1:1]  ³ 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.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn The translation attempts to bring out the verbal idea in συγκοινωνός (sunkoinwno", “co-sharer”); John was suffering for his faith at the time he wrote this.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν ᾿Ιησοῦ (en Ihsou) could be taken with ὑπομονῇ (Jupomonh) as the translation does or with the more distant συγκοινωνός (sunkoinwno"), in which case the translation would read “your brother and the one who shares with you in Jesus in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn The phrase “about Jesus” has been translated as an objective genitive.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:1]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[3:1]  ¹² tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “a name.”

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.

[5:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “fell 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.”

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:8]  ¹⁸ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.