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10 I was in the Spirit[a] on the Lord’s Day[b] when[c] I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus, Smyrna,[d] Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12 I[e] turned to see whose voice was speaking to me,[f] and when I did so,[g] I saw seven golden lampstands,

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:10 tn 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).
  2. Revelation 1:10 tn Concerning the phrase κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ (kuriakē hēmera) BDAG 576 s.v. κυριακός states: “pert. to belonging to the Lord, the Lord’sκ. ἡμέρᾳ the Lord’s day (Kephal. I 192, 1; 193, 31…) i.e. certainly Sunday (so in Mod. Gk….) Rv 1:10 (WStott, NTS 12, ’65, 70-75).”
  3. Revelation 1:10 tn The conjunction καί (kai) is not introducing a coordinate thought, but one that is logically subordinate to the main verb ἐγενόμην (egenomēn).
  4. Revelation 1:11 tn Grk “and to Smyrna.” For stylistic reasons the conjunction καί (kai) and the preposition εἰς (eis) have not been translated before the remaining elements of the list. In lists with more than two elements contemporary English generally does not repeat the conjunction except between the next to last and last elements.
  5. Revelation 1:12 tn Throughout the translation John’s use of καί (kai) often reflects the varied usage of the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav). A clause which καί introduces has been translated in terms of its semantic relationship to the clause that preceded it. If the καί seemed redundant, however, it was left untranslated; that is the case in this verse.
  6. Revelation 1:12 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, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (metemou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”
  7. Revelation 1:12 tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrephō) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.