Section 3:14–22
Jesus spoke to the church at Laodicea
In this section, Jesus spoke to the people who believed in him at Laodicea. He knew that they believed in him but they were not serving him well. He warned them to stop being lazy and encouraged them to work properly for him. Lastly, he gave a promise to any believer who persevered in his faith.
Translate this section heading as you did for the other messages to the churches.
Paragraph 3:14–20
3:14a
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: You should translate this clause in the same way as you did in 3:1. Only change the name to Laodicea.
3:14b–d
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation: This clause is an introduction to the words in 3:15–22. You should translate the phrase These are the words of in a similar way to 3:1.
Jesus spoke these words about himself. He continues to speak in 3:15 with “I.” In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Jesus was talking about someone else here. If that is true in your language, indicate that Jesus spoke about himself. For example:
These are my words, and I am the Amen. I am the faithful and true witness, and ⌊I am⌋ the source of God’s creation.
3:14b
the Amen: This phrase is used as a title. The word Amen is a Hebrew word that means “even so” or “it is true.” It is used to agree with what was said. Here it indicates that Jesus agrees with all of God’s promises and plans. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the One ⌊named⌋ the Amen
-or-
the One called Amen (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the One Who Says “True!” ⌊to God’s promises⌋
This phrase is used as a title for God in Isaiah 65:16 (literally “(the) God of ‘Amen’ ”). There the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “the God of truth.”
See how you translated the word Amen in 1:6.
3:14c
the faithful and true Witness: This phrase indicates that Jesus is someone who is trustworthy and who always speaks the truth. He faithfully declares the things God told him to say. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the witness who is faithful and true (God’s Word)
-or-
the trustworthy, the true witness (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the One who faithfully and truthfully testifies ⌊about God⌋
See how you translated the similar phrase (“the faithful witness”) in 1:5.
faithful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as faithful refers to someone trustworthy and dependable. Jesus Christ is reliable and worthy of trust.
true: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as true here refers to the fact that Christ is truthful and genuine. He does not misrepresent what God told him to say.
Witness: The word Witness refers to a person who speaks about something he has seen or heard or knows. Here Jesus is a witness to God and what he wanted Jesus to say.
3:14d
the Originator of God’s creation: There are several ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Originator :
(1) It means source or origin. Jesus was the one who created the universe. For example:
the origin of all that God has created (Good News Translation)
-or-
the beginning of God’s creation (Revised Standard Version)
(2) It means ruler, as in the New International Version.
(3) It means principle. For example:
the Principle of God’s creation (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This phrase indicates that Jesus was the source or origin of everything that God made. It does not mean that God created Jesus first and then created other things. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the source of God’s creation (God’s Word)
-or-
the originator of God’s creation (NET Bible)
God’s creation: The word creation refers to all that God has made. This includes the earth, the sun, the stars, people, and all the plants and animals. Jesus himself is not part of this creation but has always existed with God. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
all that God has created/made
-or-
everything that God brought/spoke into existence
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