SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 2020 – Page 31

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 4:9

4:9a

And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks: This clause refers to what the creatures were saying in 4:8. By saying these words of praise, they were giving glory, honor, and thanks to God.

give glory, honor, and thanks: This phrase indicates that the creatures acknowledge God’s glory, that they honor him and thank him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

glorify and honor and thank
-or-
praising, honoring, and thanking (Contemporary English Version)

give glory: This phrase refers to agreeing that God has glory. The living creatures do that by praising God. They say that he is great, and that he has all power and majesty. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

acknowledge his majesty
-or-
praise him that he is awesome

give…honor: This phrase refers to showing respect and reverence to someone. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

revere
-or-
show respect
-or-
lift up the name

4:9b

to the One seated on the throne who lives forever and ever: The two phrases to the One seated on the throne and (him) who lives forever and ever both refer to God.

Other ways to translate this phrase are:

to him who sits on the throne, that is, the one who lives for ever and ever
-or-
the one who sits on the throne, who lives for ever and ever (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
to the forever existing one who sits on the throne

who lives forever and ever: The Greek words are literally “to the one living into the ages of the ages.” The word “age” refers to a very long time, so the phrase “the ages of the ages” refers to eternity. For example:

who lives for evermore
-or-
who lives for all ages to come

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 6:16

6:16a

said: Here the people spoke to the rocks and mountains because they were desperate. Other ways to translate this word are:

called (New International Version)
-or-
shouted (Contemporary English Version)

People do not normally speak to rocks and mountains. See the General Comment on 6:16a–17b below.

6:16b–17b

In 6:16b–17b the people were very afraid. Your language may have a way of speaking that indicates fear. It might be short sentences. For example:

“Fall on us! Hide us from the one sitting on the throne! Hide us from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 Indeed, the great day of their wrath has come! Who can stand?”

Consider how your language indicates great fear when speaking.

6:16b

Fall on us: The speakers called on the mountains to cover them. They wanted to avoid standing before God. They were greatly afraid that God would judge them and punish them. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Cover us
-or-
Bury us

hide us from the face of: The phrase the face of often refers to being in front of someone. This phrase indicates that they do not want God to see them. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

hide us from the presence of (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
hide us away from (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
hide us from the eyes of (Good News Translation)

the One seated on the throne: This phrase indicates that the person referred to as the One is a ruler. Here the phrase refers to God (4:2–5).

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer to someone other than God. If that is true in your language, you may want to include some implied information. For example:

him who sits on the throne ⌊and rules everything⌋
-or-
the ⌊great/greatest⌋ One who sits on the throne

See how you translated a similar phrase “someone seated on it” in 4:2.

6:16c

wrath of the Lamb: The word wrath refers to great anger. In some languages it is not natural to hide from an emotion like wrath or anger. If that is true in your language, you may need to translate the Lamb as the main part of the phrase. For example:

the wrathful/furious Lamb
-or-
the Lamb who is very angry

the Lamb: This phrase refers to Jesus, just as it did in 6:1. See how you translated it there.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 9:4

9:4a

They were told: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊God⌋ told them

the grass of the earth or any plant or tree: Grass, plants, and trees all grow on the earth. In some languages it is more natural to indicate that all these things grow on the earth. For example:

any grass, green plant, or tree on the earth (God’s Word)

Since people usually think of grass, plants, and trees as growing on the earth, it is more natural in some languages to omit the phrase of the earth. For example:

the grass or plants or trees (New Living Translation (2004))

9:4b

but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads: This clause indicates that God told the locusts to harm the people named here. In some languages it is more natural to repeat some of the words from 9:4a here. For example:

they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God’s seal on their foreheads (Good News Translation)

those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads: Earlier, in 7:3–4, angels put God’s seal or mark on 144,000 people. The phrase here refers to the people without that seal or mark.

seal: This word refers to a mark put on the people. The mark is placed with the device called a “seal” (7:2b). What the mark looked like is not described. Other ways to translate this word are:

mark of ownership
-or-
owner’s symbol

See how you translated this word in 7:3.

General Comment on 9:4a–b

In some languages it is more natural to translate these instructions as a direct quote. For example:

They were told, “Do not harm the grass on the earth or any plant or tree. You may harm only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 11:5

11:5–6

The Greek and the Berean Standard Bible use present tense in these verses. It indicates that the events here occur throughout the 1,260 days (11:3b). Use the proper tense and grammar to indicate that the events here occur throughout the 1,260 days.

11:5a–b

If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies: The word anyone is singular, but refers generally to their enemies. The singular word indicates that whoever the enemy is, he will be destroyed. Other ways to translate these words are:

Fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies if anyone tries to harm them (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Any enemy who tries to harm them will be destroyed by the fire that comes out of their mouths (Contemporary English Version)

11:5b

fire proceeds from their mouths: This indicates that flames of fire leave the mouths of the witnesses. It is implied that the flames leave their mouths forcefully.

devours: This word refers to eating something. But it also refers to the way fire burns something until only ashes are left. Use a word that refers to when fire burns something completely. The word probably implies “immediately” or “quickly” here. Other ways to translate this word are:

consumes (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
completely burns

11:5c

In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed: The Greek words are literally “If anyone tries to harm them, it is necessary for him to be killed in that way.” The words indicate that any enemy attacking the two witnesses will certainly die. They will die from the fire coming from the mouths of the two witnesses. Other ways to translate this are:

anyone who tries to harm them will certainly be killed in this way (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
so shall anyone die who tries to do them injury (Revised English Bible)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 12:18

12:18

This verse appears at 12:17d in the Berean Standard Bible. See the General Comment note there on the placement of this verse.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 14:14

Section 14:14–20

The person on the cloud harvested the earth

In this section, John saw one “like a son of man” seated on a white cloud. This person gathered the people of the earth just as someone harvests grain. Then an angel gathered the grapes of the earth, and squeezed the juice out. The juice represents God’s anger.

Other examples for this section heading are:

The harvest of the earth
-or-
The Earth Is Harvested (New Century Version)
-or-
The person on a cloud gathered the people of the earth

Paragraph 14:14–16

14:14a

And I looked: John just finished talking about the future for believers. This clause indicates that he saw a new part of the vision. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Once again I looked (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
Now in my vision I saw (New Jerusalem Bible)

See how you translated this in 14:1. But note that John used this phrase again here just fourteen verses later.

and saw a white cloud: The Greek words are literally “and look.” The word “look” emphasizes or calls attention to the words that follow. It also probably indicates surprise or suddenness. The word “look” is not a command to look at something. Other ways to translate the Greek phrase are:

indeed/hey, a white cloud
-or-
and look, a white cloud
-or-
suddenly/unexpectedly I saw a white cloud

See how you translated this phrase in 14:1.

14:14b

and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man: These words are similar to the words in Daniel 7:13. In that verse, Daniel saw in a vision “one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.” Many people in Jesus’ day understood that to be a vision of the Christ.

In some languages people are not familiar with Daniel 7:13. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in a footnote. For example:

These words are similar to the prophecy in Daniel 7:13 about the Christ. The words here were written to remind people of the prophecy in Daniel 7:13.

like the Son of Man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Man can mean “male,” “person,” or “mankind.” John probably implied that he was referring to Jesus here, but he only did so indirectly. The meaning here is probably the same as in 1:13. See how you translated the same phrase there.

14:14c

with a golden crown: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crown refers to the headpiece that kings wear. It is a symbol of their authority. See how you translated a similar phrase in 4:4.

golden: The word gold refers to a shiny, yellow metal that is very valuable. In some languages people are not familiar with gold. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain the meaning in your translation:

⌊expensive⌋ gold
-or-

⌊valuable⌋ metal/stones called gold

See how you translated this word in 3:18 or 4:4.

sickle: This word refers to a long, curved knife with a short handle. It is used for harvesting grain crops. People swing the sickle near the ground to cut the stalks of grain. At that time they used both the stalks and the grain.

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

• Use the name of a tool that is used in your area for harvesting grain crops.

• Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:

grain-harvesting tool
-or-
tool for harvesting grain/wheat

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

A sickle is a long, curved knife with a short handle. It is used for harvesting grain crops.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 16:18

16:18a–b

And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake: The Greek clause is literally “lightning, noises, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake occurred.” Here the word “noises” probably refers to the sound of distant thunder. The New Living Translation (2004) translates this as:

the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck…

See how you translated this in 11:19.

great earthquake: This word refers to when the ground shakes strongly.

16:18c–d

the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake: These words compare this earthquake to all other earthquakes. It says that this earthquake was the worst one. Other ways to translate these words are:

such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the worst since people were placed on the earth (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
There has never been such a powerful earthquake since humans have been on earth (God’s Word)

men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to people in general. For example:

mankind (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

mighty: This word means “big” or “great.” The earthquake caused the earth to shake a lot.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 18:11

Paragraph 18:11–13

18:11a

merchants: This word refers to those who buy, sell, and trade as their job. See how you translated this word in 18:3.

weep: This word refers to great sadness that causes tears in the eyes. Here the word may also refer to the noise people make when crying. But it probably does not refer to the loud noise of wailing.

mourn: This word refers to being very sad and grieving. See how you translated this word in 18:9, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “wail.”

18:11b

because: This conjunction introduces the reason for the merchants’ sorrow.

no one left to buy: This phrase indicates that no one in Babylon will buy what the merchants have to sell.

cargo: This word refers generally to things that merchants sell. Some of the kinds of cargo are listed in 18:12–13. For example:

goods (Good News Translation)

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 2020