3:18a–e
Jesus advised the believers in Laodicea to buy three things: gold, white clothes, and salve. These three things are symbolic of spiritual things such as faith, righteousness, and spiritual guidance/sight.
3:18a
counsel: This word means “give advice.” Jesus told the believers what they should do to improve their weak spiritual condition. The Good News Translation translates the Greek word as:
advise
buy from Me gold refined by fire: This command symbolically refers to obtaining true, spiritual riches from God. The believers in Laodicea needed to ask Jesus for the only kind of wealth that is truly valuable. See the General Comment at the end of 3:18e.
gold: The word gold refers to a rare metal of a somewhat yellow color. It was the most expensive metal at that time. Gold is naturally shiny and beautiful.
In some languages people are not familiar with gold. If that is true in your language, you may want to describe it. For example:
⌊expensive⌋ gold
-or-
⌊valuable⌋ metal/stones ⌊called⌋ gold
See how you translated a similar word (“golden”) in 1:12.
refined by fire: When someone makes gold so hot that it melts, the impurities in the gold float to the top. Then the impurities can be removed. In that way gold is made pure, or it is refined. The verb refined is an implied passive clause. Some ways to translate it are:
• Use a passive clause. For example:
It has been refined in a fire, (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
gold made pure in fire (New Century Version)
• Use an active clause. For example:
that the fire has purified
3:18b
that you may become rich: This clause refers figuratively to having spiritual riches such as great faith. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to earthly riches. If that is true in your language, explain the kind of riches in your translation. For example:
you can be truly rich (New Century Version)
-or-
then you will have ⌊spiritual⌋ wealth
Another way to help readers understand this figurative speech is to translate literally but explain that meaning in a footnote. See the example footnote in the General Comment at 3:18e.
3:18c
white garments: The main clause “I counsel you to buy from me” is implied. The Greek language does not need to repeat it here. However, in some languages it is more natural to repeat some or all of the main clause. For example:
and ⌊buy from me⌋ white clothes to wear
-or-
and ⌊I counsel you to buy from me⌋ white clothes to wear
The phrase white garments probably refers figuratively to righteousness or goodness. Moral goodness (or righteousness) is sometimes symbolized by white clothes in the Bible.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to their literal clothing. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied meaning in your translation. For example:
white clothes ⌊that represent righteousness/purity⌋
Another way to help readers understand this figurative speech is to translate literally but explain that meaning in a footnote. See the example footnote in the General Comment at 3:18e.
3:18d
that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed: The Greek clause is literally “so that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed.” This is a negative purpose statement with a passive clause with “be revealed.” Some ways to translate it are:
• Use a passive clause. For example:
so…your shameful nakedness will not be exposed (NET Bible)
-or-
and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen (English Standard Version)
-or-
so you will not be shamed by your nakedness (New Living Translation (2004))
• Use an active clause. For example:
hide your shameful nakedness (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
so that you may keep your shameful, naked body from showing (God’s Word)
your shameful nakedness: The Greek phrase is literally “the shame of your nakedness” (as in the Revised Standard Version). Nakedness is a symbol for their lack of righteousness. White clothing is a symbol for righteousness. They needed to remedy their lack of righteousness (their “nakedness”). Other ways to translate this phrase are:
be shamed by your nakedness (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the shame of being naked
3:18e
and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see: The third thing Jesus told the believers in Laodicea to accept from him was eye salve. He wanted to give them true sight, that is, spiritual understanding.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to literal salve. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied meaning in your translation. For example:
and salve ⌊that represents the healing power of God to see spiritual needs⌋ to put on your eyes, so you can see
salve: This word refers to an ointment put on the eyes to help heal eye diseases. Here the salve would heal the spiritual blindness mentioned in 3:17b. Other ways to translate this word are:
ointment (Good News Translation)
-or-
medicine
to anoint your eyes: Translate this phrase by using the natural way to talk about applying medicine to eyes. For example:
to put in your eyes
-or-
for your eyes (Contemporary English Version)
General Comment on 3:17b–18e
Symbols in this long metaphor refer to spiritual conditions, so you may want to translate them literally and then explain the metaphors in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The physical conditions referred to in 3:17b–18 are symbols for a person’s spiritual condition. The faith of the believers at Laodicea was wretched and pitiful. They were spiritually poor, blind, and naked. The gold, eye salve, and clothes are symbolic remedies for being spiritually poor, blind, and naked. The physical remedies represent spiritual blessings like pure faith, knowledge of God, and righteousness.
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