The smoke of their torment: this means “the smoke of the fire that torments them.” For torment see “torture” at 9.5.

Goes up for ever and ever: if it is not natural to speak simply of the smoke rising forever, it may be better to say “The fire in which they are tormented (or, are punished) will burn forever” or “The fire that is tormenting (or, punishing) them will burn forever (or, never stop burning).”

They have no rest: this means they will have no relief from their suffering (see “they never cease,” 4.8). One may also translate “those who worship … will suffer continually (or, day and night).”

And whoever receives the mark of its name: this does not refer to another group, different from those who worship the beast and its image (or, statue); it is another way of describing them. Good News Translation has tried to make this equivalence clear, but it may be made even clearer by saying “Those who worship the beast and its statue and have on them the mark of its name will have no relief, day or night, from their suffering.” For the mark of its name, see 13.16-17. Here it means that they are marked with the name of the beast.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• The fire that torments them will burn forever. For those people who worship the beast and its statue (or, image) and have the mark of its name on them will never stop suffering.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .