It should be noticed that the speaker continues to be the glorified Christ, who at 1.17 begins to speak to John and continues to do so to the end of chapter 3.

Since this is the beginning of a new chapter, it will be helpful in some languages to say “And then he said to me…” or “The one whose form was like that of a human being then said to me….” A translator may also wish to introduce the speaker at the beginning of each of the seven letters, but it is not easy to decide how to identify him. “He said to me” is about the only way of doing this; it is not appropriate in this context to say “The risen Christ said to me” or “Jesus Christ said to me.” But each letter begins by identifying the speaker in terms of the description in 1.12-16, so the reader of the text is told at once who the speaker is.

Notice that Revised Standard Version has two levels of quotation marks, using double and single marks, and translators in certain languages may wish to follow this system. Good News Translation, however, has only the double quotation marks throughout. New Revised Standard Version is like Good News Bible. A translator should use the system that is easiest for the readers to understand.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus: for the angel see the comment at 1.20. In this context angel more likely refers to a person who represents the church. Thus translators may render the angel of the church as “the representative of the church…,” or even “messenger of the church.”

Write: a more natural order for a command in English and other languages is to begin with the verb: “Write this message (or, letter) to…,” “You must write…,” or “I want (or, command) you to write….”

Ephesus was the most important city in the Roman province of Asia; it was a busy seaport, had a thriving commerce, and was the center of the cult of the goddess Artemis (see Acts 19.27, 35), and also a place where magical arts were practiced (Acts 19.19). As the book of Acts shows, it soon became a very important center of Christian activity, and at the time of the writing of this letter, it may have been the most important Christian church in the Roman empire.

In many languages it will be necessary to identify Ephesus as a city. In some cultures, however, there are no human settlements that are the equivalent of cities. People live in villages or small groups of houses, often without protective walls or fences. In such cases it will be necessary to refer to a city as “a large (or, chief) village” or “a large group of houses surrounded by a strong wall.”

The words of: Revised Standard Version‘s incomplete sentence follows the form of the Greek text; Good News Translation has a complete sentence, with the use of “This is the message from…”; one may also say “The following is what the one who … says.”

Who holds the seven stars in his right hand : see 1.16.

Who walks among the seven golden lampstands : see 1.12-13. Here the added information walks is given, implying that he watches and takes care of the churches.

An alternative translation model for this verse is the following:

• He said to me, “I want you to write a letter to the representative of God’s group of people in the city of Ephesus, as follows:
“ ‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven lampstands says the following words (or, sends this message) to you….’ ”

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 .