14:15a

temple: The word temple refers to a building where God, or another deity, is believed to be present in a special way. People worship there. See how you translated this word in 3:12 or 7:15.

This temple is the one in heaven (14:17).

14:15b

crying out: Here the words crying out refer to speaking to someone who is far away. For example:

shouted (New Jerusalem Bible)

14:15c–e

Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe: These words are probably a metaphor for gathering people from the earth. The angel did not say whether the Son of Man should gather believers or unbelievers or both. See the note at 14:15e for ways to translate the metaphor.

14:15c

Swing Your sickle: The Greek clause is literally “send your sickle.” The Greek verb refers to reaching near the ground with the sickle to cut the stalks of grain. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Use your sickle (Good News Translation)
-or-
Swing your sickle (God’s Word)

reap: This word refers to cutting the stalks of grain and gathering them.

14:15d

the time has come to harvest: This clause indicates that now is the right time to reap. Here some languages may use a verb other than come. For example:

the time to harvest has occurred
-or-
now is the time to harvest

In some languages the verb harvest requires an object. For example:

now it is time to harvest ⌊the earth⌋
-or-
now it is time to cut and gather ⌊the harvest⌋

14:15e

the crop of the earth is ripe: This indicates that the crop was mature. For example:

the earth is ripe for the harvest (Good News Translation)
-or-
the earth’s crop is ready/mature

As a metaphor it indicates that the time was right for God to gather the people of the earth.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to gathering food. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the meaning of the metaphor in a footnote. An example footnote is:

This sentence is a metaphor for gathering people from the earth. It may refer to believers, non-believers, or both.

• Explain the meaning of the metaphor in your translation. For example:

the harvest of the earth is ripe, that is, it is time to gather the people of the earth

• Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:

15c Go and gather, 15d because the time to gather has come, 15e and the people of the earth are ready to be gathered.

You may then want to give the literal words in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Literally: “Send your sickle and reap, because the hour/time to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

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