Revelation 22:1–21

22:1 Then1 the angel2 showed me the river of the water of life—water as clear as crystal—pouring out3 from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 22:2 flowing down the middle of the city’s4 main street.5 On each side6 of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds7 of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year.8 Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. 22:3 And there will no longer be any curse,9 and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city.10 His11 servants12 will worship13 him, 22:4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 22:5 Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

A Final Reminder

22:6 Then14 the angel15 said to me, “These words are reliable16 and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants17 what must happen soon.”

22:7 (Look! I am coming soon!

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy expressed in this book.)18

22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things,19 and when I heard and saw them,20 I threw myself down21 to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. 22:9 But22 he said to me, “Do not do this!23 I am a fellow servant24 with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey25 the words of this book. Worship God!” 22:10 Then26 he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this book, because the time is near. 22:11 The evildoer must continue to do evil,27 and the one who is morally filthy28 must continue to be filthy. The29 one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy.”

22:12 (Look! I am coming soon,

and my reward is with me to pay30 each one according to what he has done!

22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the first and the last,

the beginning and the end!)31

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access32 to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. 22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers33 and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood!34

22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!”35 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge.

22:18 I testify to the one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described36 in this book. 22:19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life37 and in the holy city that are described in this book.

22:20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 22:21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.38

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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 mentioned in 21:9, 15) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3	tn Grk “proceeding.” Water is more naturally thought to pour out or flow out in English idiom.
4	tn Grk “its”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5	tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).
6	tn Grk “From here and from there.”
7	tn Or “twelve crops” (one for each month of the year).
8	tn The words “of the year” are implied.
9	tn Or “be anything accursed” (L&N 33.474).
10	tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11	tn Grk “city, and his.” Although this is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, a new sentence was started here in the translation because of the introduction of the Lamb’s followers.
12	tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
13	tn Or “will serve.”
14	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
15	tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15; 22:1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16	tn Grk “faithful.”
17	tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
18	sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator.
19	tn Or “I am John, the one who heard and saw these things.”
20	tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
21	tn Grk “I fell down and worshiped at the feet.” 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.”
22	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
23	tn On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή (hora mē) BDAG 720 s.v. ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically … ὅρα μή (sc. ποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”
24	tn Grk “fellow slave.” Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) is here translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
25	tn Grk “keep” (an idiom for obedience).
26	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
27	tn Grk “must do evil still.”
28	tn For this translation see L&N 88.258; the term refers to living in moral filth.
29	tn Grk “filthy, and the.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started in the translation.
30	tn The Greek term may be translated either “pay” or “pay back” and has something of a double meaning here. However, because of the mention of “wages” (“reward,” another wordplay with two meanings) in the previous clause, the translation “pay” for ἀποδοῦναι (apodounai) was used here.
31	sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator.
32	tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”
33	tn On the term φάρμακοι (pharmakoi) see L&N 53.101.
34	tn Or “lying,” “deceit.”
35	tn On this expression BDAG 892 s.v. πρωϊνός states, “early, belonging to the morning ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρ. the morning star, Venus Rv 2:28; 22:16.”
36	tn Grk “written.”
37	tc The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV rests, reads “the book” of life (ἀπὸ βίβλου, apo biblou) instead of “the tree” of life. When the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus translated the NT he had access to no Greek mss for the last six verses of Revelation. So he translated the Latin Vulgate back into Greek at this point. As a result he created seventeen textual variants which were not in any Greek mss. The most notorious of these is this reading. It is thus decidedly inauthentic, while “the tree” of life, found in the best and virtually all Greek mss, is clearly authentic. The confusion was most likely due to an intra-Latin switch: The form of the word for “tree” in Latin in this passage is ligno; the word for “book” is libro. The two-letter difference accounts for an accidental alteration in some Latin mss; that “book of life” as well as “tree of life” is a common expression in the Apocalypse probably accounts for why this was not noticed by Erasmus or the KJV translators. (This textual problem is not discussed in NA 27.)
38	tc Most mss (א 𝔐) read “amen” (ἀμήν, amēn) after “all” (πάντων, pantōn). It is, however, not found in other important mss (A 1006 1841 pc). It is easier to account for its addition than its omission from the text if original. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant.

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Revelation 9:1–10:11

9:1 Then1 the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky2 to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.3 9:2 He4 opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it5 like smoke from a giant furnace. The6 sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft. 9:3 Then7 out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power8 like that of the scorpions of the earth. 9:4 They9 were told10 not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people11 who did not have the seal of God on their12 forehead. 9:5 The locusts13 were not given permission14 to kill15 them, but only to torture16 them17 for five months, and their torture was like that18 of a scorpion when it stings a person.19 9:6 In20 those days people21 will seek death, but22 will not be able to23 find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

9:7 Now24 the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On25 their heads were something like crowns similar to gold,26 and their faces looked like men’s27 faces. 9:8 They28 had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9:9 They had breastplates29 like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. 9:10 They have30 tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability31 to injure people for five months is in their tails. 9:11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.32

9:12 The first woe has passed, but33 two woes are still coming after these things!

9:13 Then34 the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice coming from the35 horns on the golden altar that is before God, 9:14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding36 the trumpet, “Set free37 the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 9:15 Then38 the four angels who had been prepared for this39 hour, day,40 month, and year were set free to kill41 a third of humanity. 9:16 The42 number of soldiers on horseback was two hundred million;43 I heard their number. 9:17 Now44 this is what the horses and their riders45 looked like in my46 vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red,47 dark blue,48 and sulfurous49 yellow in color.50 The51 heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur52 came out of their mouths. 9:18 A third of humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is,53 by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths. 9:19 For the power54 of the horses resides55 in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes, having heads that inflict injuries. 9:20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made56 of gold, silver,57 bronze, stone, and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. 9:21 Furthermore,58 they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells,59 of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.

The Angel with the Little Scroll

10:1 Then1 I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped2 in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire.3 10:2 He held4 in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 10:3 Then5 he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. 10:4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but6 just then7 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.” 10:5 Then8 the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 10:6 and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay!9 10:7 But in the days10 when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed,11 just as he has12 proclaimed to his servants13 the prophets.” 10:8 Then14 the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak15 to me16 again,17 “Go and take the open18 scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 10:9 So19 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He20 said to me, “Take the scroll21 and eat it. It22 will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10:10 So23 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste24 as sweet as honey in my mouth, but25 when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 10:11 Then26 they27 told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations,28 languages, and kings.”

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1	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
2	tn Or “from heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
3	tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of Ἀβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11 … φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”
4	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
5	tn Grk “the shaft,” but since this would be somewhat redundant in English, the pronoun “it” is used here.
6	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
7	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
8	tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”
9	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
10	tn The dative indirect object (αὐταῖς, autais) was converted into the subject (“they”) as this more closely approximates English usage. The following ἵ῞να (hina) is taken as substantival, introducing a direct object clause. In this case, because it is reported speech, the ἵνα is similar to the declarative ὅτι (hoti).
11	tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.
12	tn The article τῶν (tōn) has been translated as a possessive pronoun here (ExSyn 215).
13	tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14	tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
15	tn The two ἵνα (hina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edothē).
16	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.”
17	tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.
18	tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.
19	tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.
20	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
21	tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.
22	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
23	tn The phrase “not be able to” was used in the translation to emphasize the strong negation (οὐ μή, ou mē) in the Greek text.
24	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the locusts, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.
25	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
26	tn The translation attempts to bring out the double uncertainty in this clause in the Greek text, involving both the form (ὡς στέφανοι, hōs stephanoi, “like crowns”) and the material (ὅμοιοι χρυσῷ, homoioi chrusō, “similar to gold”).
27	tn Or “human faces.” The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is often used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women. However, because “women’s hair” in the next clause suggests a possible gender distinction here, “men’s” was retained.
28	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
29	tn Or perhaps, “scales like iron breastplates” (RSV, NRSV) although the Greek term θώραξ (thōrax) would have to shift its meaning within the clause, and elsewhere in biblical usage (e.g., Eph 6:14; 1 Thess 5:8) it normally means “breastplate.” See also L&N 8.38.
30	tn In the Greek text there is a shift to the present tense here; the previous verbs translated “had” are imperfects.
31	tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”
32	sn Both the Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek Apollyon mean “Destroyer.”
33	tn Grk “behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.
34	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
35	tc ‡ Several key mss (𝔓47 א1 A 0207 1611 2053 2344 pc lat syh co) lack the word τεσσάρων (tessarōn, “four”) before κεράτων (keratōn, “horns”). The word seems to have been added by scribes because a “horned” altar (described in the OT [Exod 30:2, 10]) could have only four “horns” or projections at the corners. NA 27 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
36	tn Grk “having.”
37	tn On λῦσον (luson) BDAG 606–7 s.v. λύω 2 states, “set free, loose, untie—a. lit. a pers., animal, or thing that is bound or tied … Angels that are bound Rv 9:14f.”
38	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
39	tn The Greek article τήν (tēn) has been translated with demonstrative force here.
40	tn The Greek term καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term “month” since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
41	tn Grk “so that they might kill,” but the English infinitive is an equivalent construction to indicate purpose here.
42	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
43	tn Grk “twenty thousand of ten thousands.”
44	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the horses and riders, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.
45	tn Grk “and those seated on them.”
46	tn Grk “the vision”; the Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
47	tn L&N 79.31 states, “ ‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”
48	tn On this term BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑακίνθινος states, “hyacinth-colored, i.e. dark blue (dark red?) w. πύρινος Rv 9:17.”
49	tn On this term BDAG 446 s.v. θειώδης states, “sulphurous Rv 9:17.”
50	sn The colors of the riders’ breastplates parallel the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur in v. 18.
51	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
52	tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”
53	tn The phrase ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ τοῦ καπνοῦ καὶ τοῦ θείου τοῦ ἐκπορευομένου ἐκ τῶν στομάτων αὐτῶν (“by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths”) is taken as epexegetical (explanatory) to the phrase τῶν τριῶν πληγῶν τούτων (“these three plagues”).
54	tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”
55	tn Grk “is.”
56	tn The word “made” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
57	tn The Greek conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following materials in this list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
58	tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, with “furthermore” used to indicate a continuation of the preceding.
59	tn On the term φαρμακεία (pharmakeia, “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.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”
1	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
2	tn Or “clothed.”
3	tn Or “like fiery pillars,” translating πυρός (puros) as an attributive genitive.
4	tn Grk “and having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
5	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
6	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7	tn The words “just then” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
8	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
9	tn On this phrase see BDAG 1092 s.v. χρόνος.
10	tn Grk “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.”
11	tn The aorist ἐτελέσθη (etelesthē) has been translated as a proleptic (futuristic) aorist (ExSyn 564 cites this verse as an example).
12	tn The time of the action described by the aorist εὐηγγέλισεν (euēngelisen) seems to be past with respect to the aorist passive ἐτελέσθη (etelesthē). This does not require that the prophets in view here be OT prophets. They may actually refer to the martyrs in the church (so G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 129).
13	tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
14	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
15	tn The participle λαλοῦσαν (lalousan) has been translated as “began to speak.” The use of πάλιν (palin) indicates an ingressive idea.
16	tn 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, μετʼ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”
17	tn Grk “again, saying.” The participle λέγουσαν (legousan) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
18	tn The perfect passive participle ἠνεῳγμένον (ēneōgmenon) is in second attributive position and has been translated as an attributive adjective.
19	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the voice.
20	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
21	tn The words “the scroll” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
22	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the angel.
24	tn Grk “it was.” The idea of taste is implied.
25	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
26	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
27	tn The referent of “they” is not clear in the Greek text.
28	tn Grk “and nations,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the next item since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

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