Revelation 21:8

But the fearful The cowards would express the sense more accurately, at least in modern English. Those condemned are those who are afraid to do their duty, not those who do it, though timidly and in spite of the fears of nature: still less those who do it "with fear and trembling" in St Paul's sense.

unbelieving It is, as usual, questionable whether this word or "unfaithful" expresses the sense most accurately. He who believes God's Word is "faithful" to God: the character here condemned is the exact opposite.

abominable Lit. abominated; probably alluding to crimes yet fouler than those named.

sorcerers Not the same word as that applied to Simon and Bar-jesus in the Acts, but cognate with that used above, Revelation 9:21, and rendered "witchcrafts" in Galatians 5:20. The natural meaning of the word would rather be "poisoners;" and in fact in St John's days the two generally went together, and no line could be drawn between them. It is therefore no wonder that both the Apostles speak of it as a real crime connected with murder and other "works of the flesh," as well as with idolatry. For of course professed sorcery involved devil-worship, the basest idolatry of all, even if the devil had no more direct communication with the sorcerers than he has with all liars and impostors.

liars The word is a little more general, all the false.

shall have Lit. But to the fearful, &c. their portion [shall be] in the lake &c.