Paragraph 8:8–9
8:8a
second: The word second refers to the next item after the first one. If counted, this item would be counted as number two. See how you translated this word in 4:7 or 6:3.
8:8b
something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. God ordered someone to do this. For example:
⌊someone⌋ threw something like a great mountain, all ablaze
-or-
⌊God had someone⌋ throw something like a great mountain, all on fire
something like a great mountain burning with fire: This phrase indicates that the object looked like a mountain and that it was on fire. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
something that looked like a big mountain, burning with fire (New Century Version)
-or-
Something that looked like a huge mountain on fire (Good News Translation)
-or-
something like a great fiery mountain (Contemporary English Version)
sea: The word sea refers to a large body of water. A sea is often so large that someone standing on one side cannot see the other side. Here it probably refers to oceans in general. The sea is symbolic, so you should not name a particular sea. See how you translated this word in 5:13 or 7:1.
8:8c–9b
All three events in 8:8c–9b were caused by the thing like a big, fiery mountain. The second event (8:9a) does not have an “and” before it. This is good English style, but your language style will likely be different. List these three events naturally in your language.
8:8c
A third of the sea turned to blood: Here the word third means “one part out of three parts.” Other ways to translate this clause are:
One ⌊part⌋ in three ⌊parts⌋ of the oceans turned into blood
-or-
One-third of the water in the sea became blood (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
One part ⌊of every three parts⌋ of the oceans turned into blood and ⌊the other⌋ two parts did not
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