¹tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
²tn For the translation of ajpevrcomai (apercomai; here ajph'lqan [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence—‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”
³tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”
⁴tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ajnqrwvpwn, anqrwpwn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (laoiv, laoi).
⁵tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
⁶tc ‡ Most mss (Í Ï^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (aujtw'n qeov", autwn qeos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (Ï^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (e[stai met* aujtw'n qeoV" aujtw'n, estai met’ autwn qeo" autwn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA27 places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
⁷tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here kaiv (kai) has not been translated.
⁸tn For the translation of ajpevrcomai (apercomai; here ajph'lqan [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence—‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”
⁹tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
¹⁰tn The words “it down” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
¹¹tn Grk “faithful.”
¹²tn Or “It has happened.”
¹³tn The word “water” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
¹⁴tn Or “as a free gift” (see L&N 57.85).
¹⁵tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
¹⁶tn On the term farmakeiva (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people—‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ farmakeiva: ejn th'/ farmakeiva/ sou ejplanhvqhsan pavnta taV e[qnh ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”
¹⁷tn Grk “idolaters.”
¹⁸tn Grk “their share.”
¹⁹tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”
²⁰tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (livmnh, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (o{, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”
²¹tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
²²tn 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, met= ejmou' (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.
²³tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation.
²⁴tn 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).
²⁵tn Grk “to a mountain great and high.”
²⁶tn Grk “from God, having the glory of God.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “the city” to refer back to the previous clause and translating the participle (“having”) as a finite verb.
²⁷tn On the term ijavspidi (iaspidi) BDAG 465 s.v. i[aspi" states, “jasper, a precious stone found in various colors, mostly reddish, somet. green…brown, blue, yellow, and white. In antiquity the name was not limited to the variety of quartz now called jasper, but could designate any opaque precious stone. Rv 21:18f. W. livqo" 4:3 (TestSol C 11:8). livqo" i[aspi" krustallivzwn a stone of crystal-clear jasper 21:11 (cp. Is 54:12); perh. the opal is meant here; acc. to some, the diamond.”
²⁸tn Grk “jasper, having.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.
²⁹tn Grk “a (city) wall great and high.”
³⁰tn On this term BDAG 897 s.v. pulwvn 1 states, “gate, esp. of the large, impressive gateways at the entrance of temples and palaces…of the entrances of the heavenly Jerusalem…oiJ pulw'ne" aujth'" ouj mhV kleisqw'sin its entrances shall never be shut Rv 21:25; cp. vss. 12ab, 13abcd, 15, 21ab; 22:14.”
³¹tn Grk “of the sons of Israel.” The translation “nation of Israel” is given in L&N 11.58.
³²tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the gates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³³tn The words “There are” have been supplied to make a complete English sentence. This is a continuation of the previous sentence, a lengthy and complicated one in Greek.
³⁴tn The word “side” has been supplied four times in this verse for clarity.
³⁵tn Here kaiv (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
³⁶tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the angel of v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁷tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the description of the city.
³⁸tn Or “the city lies square.” On kei'mai (keimai) in this context, BDAG 537 s.v. 2 states, “lie, of things…hJ povli" tetravgwno" kei'tai is laid out as a square Rv 21:16.”
³⁹tn Here kaiv (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
⁴⁰tn Grk “with the rod”; the word “measuring” is supplied from the description in v. 15.
⁴¹tn Or “two thousand two hundred kilometers,” Grk “12,000 stades.” A stade was a measure of length about 607 ft (185 m).
⁴²tn Here the measurement was kept in cubits in the translation because of the possible symbolic significance of the number 144 (12 times 12). This is about 216 ft (65 m).
⁴³tn Here L&N 81.1 translate the phrase mevtron ajnqrwvpou, o{ ejstin ajggevlou (metron anqrwpou, {o estin angelou) “‘the unit of measurement used by a person, that is, by an angel’ Re 21:17.” It is more likely that mevtron is an accusative of respect or reference.
⁴⁴tn Grk “and its wall”; the referent of the pronoun (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here kaiv (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
⁴⁵tn The phrase hJ ejndwvmhsi" tou' teivcou" (Jh endwmhsi" tou teicou") is difficult to translate precisely. BDAG 334 s.v. ejndwvmhsi" states, “primary mng. ‘interior structure’; in our lit. prob.=construction, hence material tou' teivcou" Rv 21:18.” The phrase could then be translated, “the foundation of the city wall was jasper” or “the material used for the wall of the city was jasper.” The latter alternative has been used in the translation because the text goes on to discuss the foundation in 21:19 (using the term qemevlio" [qemelios]), which is somewhat redundant if the foundation is mentioned here.
⁴⁶tn Or “transparent crystal.” See L&N 6.222, which notes the emphasis is on transparency here. The same Greek word, kaqarov" (kaqaros), means both “pure” (referring to the gold) and “transparent” (referring to the glass).
⁴⁷tn The perfect participle here has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect.
⁴⁸sn Agate (also called chalcedony) is a semiprecious stone usually milky or gray in color (L&N 2.32).
⁴⁹sn Onyx (also called sardonyx) is a semiprecious stone that comes in various colors (L&N 2.35).
⁵⁰sn Carnelian is a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).
⁵¹sn Chrysolite refers to either quartz or topaz, golden yellow in color (L&N 2.37).
⁵²sn Beryl is a semiprecious stone, usually blue-green or green in color (L&N 2.38).
⁵³sn Chrysoprase is a greenish type of quartz (L&N 2.40).
⁵⁴sn Jacinth is a semiprecious stone, probably blue in color (also called “hyacinth,” but that translation is not used here because of possible confusion with the flower of the same name). See L&N 2.41.
⁵⁵tn Here kaiv (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
⁵⁶tn The Greek word platei'a (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).
⁵⁷tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Every verse from here to the end of this chapter begins with kaiv in Greek, but due to differences between Greek and contemporary English style, these have not been translated.
⁵⁸tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. pantokravtwr states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(oJ) kuvrio" oJ qeoV" oJ p. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
⁵⁹tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
⁶⁰tn Or “splendor”; Grk “glory.”
⁶¹tn On the translation “during the day” see BDAG 436 s.v. hJmevra 1.a, “But also, as in Thu. et al., of time within which someth. occurs, hJmevra" during the day Rv 21:25.”
⁶²tn The Greek connective gavr (gar) most often expresses some sort of causal connection. However, in this context there is no causal force to the second phrase; gavr simply expresses continuation or connection. Because of this it has been translated as “and.” See BDAG 189-90 s.v. 2.
⁶³tn The clause has virtually the force of a parenthetical comment.
⁶⁴tn Grk “honor,” but BDAG 1005 s.v. timhv 2.b states, “An outstanding feature of the use of t., as already shown in several passages, is its combination w. dovxa…of earthly possessions thVn dovxan kaiV thVn timhVn tw'n ejqnw'n Rv 21:26 (timhv concr.=an object of value: Ezk 22:25).”
⁶⁵tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
⁶⁶tn Here kaiv (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
⁶⁷tn Here BDAG 552 s.v. koinov" 2 states, “pert. to being of little value because of being common, common, ordinary, profane…b. specifically, of that which is ceremonially impure: Rv 21:27.”
⁶⁸tn Or “what is abhorrent”; Grk “who practices abominations.”
⁶⁹tn Grk “practicing abomination or falsehood.” Because of the way bdevlugma (bdelugma) has been translated (“does what is detestable”) it was necessary to repeat the idea from the participle poiw'n (poiwn, “practices”) before the term “falsehood.” On this term, BDAG 1097 s.v. yeu'do" states, “poiei'n yeu'do" practice (the things that go with) falsehood Rv 21:27; 22:15.” Cf. Rev 3:9.
⁷⁰tn Grk “those who are written”; the word “names” is implied.