Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory: this kind of self-exhortation, or command in the first person plural, may be expressed by “We must all….” For rejoice see 11.10; the Greek verb translated exult appears only here in Revelation. Translators should look for synonyms in their languages that refer to great joy. For give him the glory see 11.13; 14.7.

The marriage of the Lamb has come: this is more naturally expressed by saying “The time has come for the Lamb to get married.” The bride of the Lamb is the church; the wedding is the perfect union between Christ and his church, which is one of the events of the End.

His Bride has made herself ready: the Greek noun translated Bride (New Revised Standard Version “bride”) is simply “woman.” In English the word “bride” is applied to a woman at the time of her wedding and for a short time thereafter. Some languages may not have a specialized term and may have to refer to the bride as “the woman the Lamb is going to marry.” For the verb translated made … ready, compare 8.6, where it similarly means “prepared.”

An alternative translation model for the last part of this verse is:

• … For the time has come for the Lamb to take a wife (or, a woman), and she has prepared herself to receive him.

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 .