“The voice said” (Good News Translation) may also be rendered as “The voice ordered (or, commanded).”

The sixth angel who had the trumpet: the Greek text is again somewhat redundant, and a translator may feel free to omit who had the trumpet, since in verse 13 he is identified as having a trumpet. If a translator wishes to keep this clause, one may also say “who was holding the trumpet.”

The four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates: like the four winds (7.1), these angels have been bound. In Old Testament times the Euphrates was the great river of the empires of Babylonia and Assyria, the enemies of Israel (see Isa 7.20; 8.7). At the time of Revelation it marked the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire. Beyond it lay the lands of the dreaded Parthians. The passive form are bound emphasizes anew that God is in charge. The four angels will be released only when God chooses to do so. The preposition at does not indicate where along the length of the river the angels were bound. The preposition at is also vague as to whether the angels were “in” the river or “beside” it. Translators should keep their translations equally vague. In languages that do not use the passive, one may render this sentence as “who suffer bound (or, tied up),” or introduce an agent and say “whom God had them bind” or “whom God had them tie up.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• The voice said to the sixth angel who was holding the trumpet, “Release the four angels whom God had them tie up at the great Euphrates River!”

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 .