Revelation 5

Translator Notes

1. The scroll (biblion) written on both sides echoes Ezekiel 2:9-10, where God's scroll was 'written on both sides with words of lamentation, mourning, and woe.' Writing on both sides indicates completeness — there is no room for additions. The seven seals (sphragisin hepta) indicate maximum security; each must be broken in sequence. In Roman legal practice, a testament required seven witnesses and seven seals. The scroll may represent God's redemptive plan, a decree of judgment, or the inheritance deed of creation.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Ezekiel 2:9-10. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. The 'mighty angel' (angelon ischyron) reappears in 10:1 and 18:21. The question 'who is worthy?' (tis axios) uses the same word (axios) as the acclamation in 4:11, where God is declared 'worthy.' The question is not merely 'who is able?' but 'who has the moral standing and authority?' The proclamation goes out to all of creation — the universal scope of the search emphasizes the uniqueness of the one who is eventually found worthy.

Translator Notes

1. The threefold cosmic division — heaven, earth, under the earth — encompasses the totality of created existence (cf. Philippians 2:10). The Greek oudeis ('no one') is absolute. Not even looking at the scroll (blepein auto) is possible — the scroll's contents are completely inaccessible without a worthy mediator. The impossibility is total: no angel, no human, no being of any kind can approach God's sealed purpose.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek eklaion poly ('I was weeping much') uses the imperfect tense, indicating continued, uncontrollable weeping — not a single tear but sustained grief. John's weeping reflects the devastating implication: if no one can open the scroll, God's purposes remain sealed and unrealized. Creation's story has no resolution, no redemption, no ending. The emotional intensity makes the resolution in verse 5 all the more dramatic.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Two messianic titles converge: 'the Lion of the tribe of Judah' from Genesis 49:9-10 (Jacob's blessing on Judah: 'Judah is a lion's cub') and 'the Root of David' from Isaiah 11:1, 10 (the shoot from Jesse's stump). Both are titles of royal power and conquest. The verb enikēsen ('has conquered') is the same root as nikōn ('the one who conquers') used in the promises to the seven churches — Christ is the archetypal conqueror. But the nature of his conquest will be radically redefined in the next verse.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Genesis 49:9 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
3. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Isaiah 11:1 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. This is the pivotal moment of Revelation's theology. John hears 'Lion' but sees 'Lamb' — the hear/see contrast redefines conquest as sacrificial death. The Lamb (arnion, a diminutive of arēn) is small, vulnerable — yet it stands at the very center of heaven's power. 'Standing as though slaughtered' (hestēkos hōs esphagmenon) is a paradox: the marks of violent death are visible, yet the Lamb is alive and upright. The verb sphazō ('to slaughter') is the same used for ritual sacrifice. Seven horns represent complete power (horns = strength in biblical symbolism); seven eyes represent complete knowledge, identified with the seven spirits of God (cf. Zechariah 4:10, 'the eyes of the LORD that range through all the earth'). The slaughtered Lamb possesses omnipotence and omniscience.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Zechariah 4:10. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. The simplicity of this verse belies its enormity. The Lamb approaches the throne of God and takes the scroll — an act no one in all creation could perform. The perfect tense eilēphen ('has taken') in some manuscripts emphasizes the permanence of the act. The transfer of the scroll from the hand of God to the Lamb is the decisive moment of the entire heavenly scene — the one who was slaughtered now holds the destiny of creation.

Translator Notes

1. The living creatures and elders offer the Lamb the same worship they gave to the one on the throne in 4:10 — a striking theological claim about the Lamb's divine status. The harps (kitharan) accompany the 'new song' of verse 9. The golden bowls of incense (phialas chrysas gemousas thymiamaton) directly identified as 'the prayers of the saints' (hai proseuchai tōn hagiōn) — the prayers of God's people on earth are present in heaven as fragrant offerings. This echoes Psalm 141:2 ('Let my prayer be set before you like incense'). The prayers of suffering believers are not lost but are held in golden vessels before the throne.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] References Psalm 141:2 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

Translator Notes

1. The 'new song' (ōdēn kainēn) echoes Psalms 33:3, 96:1, and 149:1, as well as Isaiah 42:10 — always a song celebrating God's new act of salvation. The Lamb is 'worthy' (axios) — answering the question of verse 2. The ground of worthiness is sacrificial death: 'you were slaughtered' (esphagēs) and 'you purchased' (ēgorasas). The SBLGNT does not include 'us' (hēmas) after 'purchased,' reading instead 'you purchased for God' people from every group — the universal scope is the emphasis. The fourfold formula 'tribe, language, people, nation' (phylēs, glōssēs, laou, ethnous) appears seven times in Revelation with slight variations, expressing the complete diversity of humanity.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Psalms 33:3. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
3. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Isaiah 42:10. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Translator Notes

1. The SBLGNT reads 'them' (autous) and 'they will reign' (basileusousin) rather than 'us' and 'we shall reign' — the elders and living creatures speak about the redeemed rather than identifying themselves as the redeemed. The echo of Exodus 19:6 ('a kingdom of priests') continues from 1:6. The future tense basileusousin ('they will reign') points to a still-future consummation of the saints' royal priesthood on earth — not in heaven as disembodied spirits but on the renewed earth.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Exodus 19:6 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. The worship expands concentrically: the four living creatures and twenty-four elders (v. 8), then countless angels (v. 11), then every creature in existence (v. 13). The numbers myriades myriadōn kai chiliades chiliadōn ('myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands') echo Daniel 7:10, where the heavenly court numbers 'a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.' These are not precise counts but expressions of innumerable multitude.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Daniel 7:10. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. Seven attributes are ascribed to the Lamb — power (dynamin), wealth (plouton), wisdom (sophian), might (ischyn), honor (timēn), glory (doxan), and blessing (eulogian). The sevenfold list represents completeness — the Lamb deserves all praise without remainder. The angels' acclamation parallels but expands the threefold praise of 4:11 (glory, honor, power), now directed not to the Creator alone but to the slaughtered Lamb. That a slain animal receives the same worship as the one on the throne is the theological climax of the chapter.

Translator Notes

1. The worship reaches its widest circle — every creature (pan ktisma) in the fourfold cosmic division (heaven, earth, under earth, sea) joins the praise. The Lamb now receives praise alongside the one on the throne in a single doxology — 'to the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb' (tō kathēmenō epi tō thronō kai tō arniō). This coordinated worship is one of Revelation's strongest statements of the Lamb's divine status. The four attributes (blessing, honor, glory, dominion) are directed jointly to God and the Lamb, with no distinction in the quality or degree of worship. The phrase eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn ('forever and ever') ensures this is not temporary acclaim but eternal worship.

Translator Notes

1. The chapter closes with the simplest possible response: 'Amen' from the living creatures and silent prostration from the elders. After the expanding circles of praise — four creatures, twenty-four elders, myriads of angels, every creature in existence — the scene resolves into stillness and wordless adoration. The SBLGNT does not include 'him who lives forever and ever' after 'worshiped' (found in some later manuscripts); the object of worship is implicit from the preceding context — both the one on the throne and the Lamb.