All people on earth try to hide from the punishment God and the Lamb are sending on them. The language is typically male-oriented: “the kings, the important men, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free man.” Prominence is given to the powerful and the wealthy.

The kings of the earth: see comments on “kings on earth” in 1.5.

The great men: these are powerful and influential people in government and commerce (see Mark 6.21, Good News Bible “top government officials”). In certain cultures these will be called “the chiefs,” “the headmen,” “the honchos,” or “the big men.”

The generals refers to high military officers. A “general” may also be referred to as “the chief leader of an army.”

The strong: this can be translated “important people,” “influential leaders.”

Slave and free: a “slave” is a person who is the property of someone else. He or she has no rights and must show complete obedience and loyalty to the owner. A possible alternative translation of this word in cultures where slave is unknown is “a person who belongs to (or, is the property of) another.” In at least two languages the phrase slave and free is translated as “those who are bound to a master and those who are not (bound to a master).”

Hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains: distinct from caves, as a good hiding place, are tall crags, or “high rocky projections or overhangs,” or “tall big rocks in the mountains,” which afford protection; New American Bible, Revised has “among mountain crags,” Revised English Bible “under mountain crags.” For the whole picture see Isa 2.19. Caves are often referred to as “big holes in the rocks.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Then all the kings (or, high chiefs) of the world, the lesser chiefs, the leaders of armies, the rich, the important people, and all other people, whether they are slaves (or, the property of others) or are free, tried to hide themselves in caves or in the shelter of tall rocks in the mountains.

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 .