4:7a

The first living creature was like a lion: This first creature looked like a lion.

a lion: A lion is a large, fierce, four-legged animal. They weigh about 200 kilograms (450 pounds) and are about 2 meters (6.5 feet) in length. They prey upon and eat other animals, sometimes animals bigger than themselves. The male lion has a mane of hair on the head and neck. The female lion does not have a mane.

If lions are not known in your area, you may want to:

• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:

A lion is a large, fierce, four-legged animal. A lion weighs about 200 kilograms and is about two meters in length.

• Use the major language word and add a descriptive phrase. For example:

⌊a large, fierce animal called⌋ a lion

4:7b

the second like a calf: This second creature looked like a calf. The word “creature” is implied from 4:7a, but it is not repeated here.

second: The word second refers to the next item after the first one. If counted, this item would be counted as number two. Other ways to translate this word are:

the one after the first
-or-
another

a calf: A calf is the offspring of cattle or oxen. Mature oxen weigh about 800 kilograms (1,800 pounds) and are about 2.4 meters (8 feet) in length. They eat grass.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as calf can also refer to full-grown cattle. For example, the New International Version says:

an ox

A calf would not have horns. It is not clear here whether a young or mature ox is meant.

If calves (the plural of calf) are not known in your area, you may want to:

• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:

A calf is a young cow (female) or bull (male). Cows and bulls are large, domesticated/tame four-legged animals. They weigh about 800 kilograms and are about 2.4 meters in length when they are full grown.

• Use the major language word and add a descriptive phrase. For example:

⌊a large animal called⌋ a calf

4:7c

the third had a face like a man: The face of the third creature looked like a human being. The rest of the third creature is not described. The word “creature” is implied from 4:7a, but it is not repeated here.

third: This refers to the next item after the second one. If counted, this item would be counted as number three. Other ways to translate this word are:

the one after the other two
-or-
the one after the two of them
-or-
another ⌊beside the other two⌋

4:7d

the fourth was like an eagle in flight: This fourth creature looked like an eagle that was flying. The word “creature” is implied from 4:7a, but it is not repeated.

fourth: The word fourth refers to the next item after three other things. If counted, this item would be counted as number four. Here it refers to the last of four living creatures. Other ways to translate this word here are:

the one after the other three
-or-
the one after the three of them
-or-
last

an eagle in flight: An eagle is a large, sometimes aggressive bird. They weigh about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and are about 1 meter (3 feet) in length. They eat meat.

If eagles are not known in your area, you may want to:

• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:

An eagle is a large, meat-eating bird. It weighs about 5 kilograms and is about one meter in length.

• Use the major language word and add a descriptive phrase. For example:

⌊a large bird called⌋ an eagle flying

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

6:14a

receded like a scroll being rolled up: The Greek words are literally “split apart, like a scroll rolling up.” This would be like an opened scroll splitting in the middle and the two ends rolling themselves up away from each other. For example:

The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up (NET Bible)
-or-
the sky split-in-two and rolled-up like a rolled-up paper which is opened-up and divided-in-two and rolls-up again
-or-
The sky was rolled up like a scroll (New Living Translation (2004))

a scroll: A scroll was a long piece of paper or parchment used for writing a long document. A person unrolled it to read it and then rolled it up to put it away. The paper or parchment was normally rolled up, so it would often roll up by itself if a person did not hold it open.

In some languages people are not familiar with scrolls. If that is true in your language, you may want to use something similar in shape to a scroll. For example:

paper
-or-
a mat

being rolled up: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. Since this is a figure of speech, it is not important who rolled up the scroll.

In some languages an active clause must be used. For example:

⌊that someone⌋ rolls up

6:14b

every mountain and island was moved from its place: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as moved can also mean “removed” or “shaken.” It is not clear if this verse corresponds to 16:20 (“fled” and “no mountain could be found”) or not. Other ways to translate this are:

every mountain and island was dislodged from its place (Revised English Bible)
-or-
every mountain and island was removed from its place (New International Version, English Standard Version)
-or-
all the mountains and islands were shaken from their places (New Jerusalem Bible)

every mountain and island was moved: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. God caused the earthquakes that moved the mountains and islands, or he commanded someone to move them. For example:

⌊earthquakes⌋ moved every mountain and island
-or-

⌊God caused⌋ every mountain and island to move from their place

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

9:2a

opened the pit of the Abyss: The Greek clause is literally “he opened the shaft of the Abyss.” The New International Version shortens the clause, as is natural in English. In some languages it is more natural to translate the whole Greek clause. For example:

he opened the shaft of the Abyss

9:2b

smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace: This clause compares the smoke coming from the Abyss to smoke that comes from a great furnace.

In some languages it is not natural to repeat the word smoke. For example:

smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace (New Living Translation (2004))

like the smoke of a great furnace: A furnace is an enclosure heated by a big fire. A furnace often has a smokestack above that takes the smoke far above it. This simile refers to lots of thick black smoke rising quickly.

In some languages people are not familiar with furnaces. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Use a simile for something in your area that produces a lot of black smoke that rises quickly. For example:

like the smoke from a house fire

• Describe the meaning of the simile. For example:

much thick, ⌊black,⌋ smoke rising quickly

9:2c

and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

The smoke from the Abyss darkened the sun and sky
-or-
the sun and the air turned dark because of the smoke (Contemporary English Version)

the air: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek phrase here literally as the air. The smoke probably went everywhere in the air: low to the ground and high in the sky and in between, as well. Other ways to translate this word are:

sky (New International Version)
-or-
atmosphere

darkened: The word darkened here indicates that the smoke greatly reduced the amount of light. Here the word probably does not indicate that the sun and sky were completely dark.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.