Wahyu 4:11

4:11 “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!” ¹ 

Wahyu 9:5

9:5 The locusts ²  were not given permission ³  to kill ⁴  them, but only to torture ⁵  them ⁶  for five months, and their torture was like that ⁷  of a scorpion when it stings a person. ⁸ 

[4:11]  ¹ tc The past tense of “they existed” (ἦσαν, hsan) 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 Ï^A sa) also attempt to alleviate the problem by replacing ἦσαν with “they are” (εἰσιν, eisin).

[9:5]  ² tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ³ tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[9:5]  ⁴ tn The two ἵνα (Jina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edoqh).

[9:5]  ⁵ tn On this term BDAG 168 s.v. βασανισμός states, “1. infliction of severe suffering or pain associated with torture or torment, tormenting, torture Rv 9:5b. – 2. the severe pain experienced through torture, torment vs. 5a; 14:11; 18:10, 15; (w. πένθος) vs. 7.”

[9:5]  ⁶ tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.

[9:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.

[9:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.