The order of the Greek text for the first part of this verse is “The court outside the temple—exclude it and do not measure it.” Most translations invert the order of the two verbal commands in order to make the text easier to understand. In the Jerusalem Temple this court, outside the inner sanctuary, was known as the court of the Gentiles, for that is where they could assemble. They could get no nearer the inner sanctuary, however. In this passage this court and its people stand for the unbelievers, who will not be spared the disasters to come. Another way of expressing this initial clause is “But do not measure the open spaces with walls around them outside the temple.”
It is given over to the nations: again the passive form of the verb shows that God is in charge. The nations are the Gentiles, here a symbol of non-Christians. In languages that do not use the passive, one must say, for example, “I (God) have given these to those who are not my people” or “I have let those who do not believe in me occupy these.” See the previous verse, where God is the speaker.
They will trample over the holy city for forty-two months: the verb trample implies that the Gentiles will walk all over Jerusalem, the Holy City, as haughty conquerors of a defeated city (see the same verb translated “trodden down” in the similar passage in Luke 21.24). The period of time, forty-two months (also 13.5-7), is equal to 1,260 days (verse 3; see 12.6) and is equal also to three and a half years, the conventional period in apocalyptic literature for the temporary triumph of evil before the end of the age (see 12.14; also Dan 7.25; 12.7; see also the similar “three days and a half,” 11.9). Its meaning is that these outsiders will “dominate” or “rule over,” not that they will walk around for forty-two months, trampling on everything. So in some languages it will be more meaningful to say “who will rule over the Holy City….” Holy city may also be rendered as “God’s city,” or simply “Jerusalem.”
It may be desirable to establish the relation between forty-two months of verse 2 and “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” of verse 3. This can be done by translating verse 2b “… and the Gentiles will trample all over the Holy City for forty-two months, that is, for 1,260 days.” And verse 3 can begin “During all that time” or “During those 1,260 days.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But you must not measure the open areas (or, courts) outside the temple, because I (God) have given those to the people who do not believe in me. They will rule over my city for forty-two months (or, 1,260 days).
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .