Why marvel?: “Why are you surprised (or, astonished)?” The question implies that John should have understood what he was seeing. It prepares the way for the explanation that follows. Marvel is expressed idiomatically in many languages; for example, “shiver in the heart (or, liver),” “be with mouth open,” or “feel strange in the heart.”

I will tell you the mystery: for the first time in the book, an angel interpreter appears. “I will explain the mystery to you,” “I will reveal to you the secret meaning.”

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 .