A comparison between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation shows how Good News Bible has restructured the material in verses 26-28. It should be noticed that in Revised Standard Version verse 28 consists of and I will give him the morning star. In the Greek text translated by Good News Bible, however, verse 28 begins where Revised Standard Version has even as I myself have received power from my Father. For this reason Good News Bible includes verse 28 in the restructuring. New Revised Standard Version now has verse 28 begin with “even as I also received authority….”
He who conquers: see 2.7. As elsewhere, the exclusively masculine can be eliminated by using the plural “Those who conquer,” or “To everyone who conquers” (New Revised Standard Version), or the impersonal “Whoever conquers.”
Who keeps my works until the end: this means “who will continue until the end to do faithfully what I command,” “who … keeps working for me until the end” (New Jerusalem Bible); note Revised English Bible “who perseveres in doing my will to the end.” The verb “to keep” in 1.3 means to “obey”; here it means “to do.” And here my works does not mean the things that Christ does but the things he orders his followers to do. And until the end means “until the end of the age” or “until the end of the world” (see “until I come” in verse 25).
The whole passage, from I will give to broken in pieces, is a loose citation or paraphrase of Psa 2.8-9, a passage in which God promises to give the king of Israel dominion over the world.
I will give him power over the nations: the word translated power appears in this book twenty times; it may mean “power,” “authority,” or “right,” depending on the context. Here “authority” or “authority to rule” is better in English than “power.” In certain languages translators may need to use a phrase to express this concept; for example, “able to” or “strong enough to.” The word translated nations means in the Old Testament “Gentiles,” “pagans,” or even “non-Jews.” This clause may be rendered in many languages as “I will cause (or, let) him to have the authority to rule over the people of other nations” or “I will cause him to be able to (or, to be strong enough to) rule over….”
He shall rule them with a rod of iron: this means to rule completely, ruthlessly, crushing all opposition; in 12.5 and 19.15 the same language is used of the victorious Christ. The Greek verb is related to the noun “shepherd” and means “to rule as a shepherd” (see 7.17). The passage here follows the Greek Septuagint translation of the Psalm passage, and it appears that the Septuagint translators derived the Hebrew verb from the verb “to shepherd” (raʾah) instead of the verb “to break” (raʾaʾ). In translation the word for “to rule” or “to govern” should be used. The “iron rod” was probably a heavy wooden club capped with iron, not a club made of iron. In translating, some cultural adjustment may have to be made. If there is no local equivalent to a rod of iron, the translation may say “rule them without pity,” “govern them ruthlessly.”
As when earthen pots are broken in pieces: this is the way the rule will be exercised. Revised Standard Version does not make the connection clear; Revised English Bible has “and he will rule them with a rod of iron, smashing them to pieces like earthenware” (similarly Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Clay pots are fragile objects, at best, and are easily smashed. For the verb translated broken in pieces, see its use in Mark 14.3. Another way of phrasing this is “as when they smash into pieces pots made from clay.”
Even as I myself have received power from my Father: he transmits to his victorious followers the same authority he had received from God. Nothing is said as to when or how he received this God-given authority. Perhaps the words in Psa 2.6-7 are in the background. This passive clause may be expressed in many languages as “even as my Father has given me power” or “even as my Father has caused (or, let) me to have the power to rule.”
And I will give him the morning star: the morning star is probably the planet Venus, a symbol of victory and domination. Victorious Roman generals built temples in honor of Venus, and the sign of Venus was on the standards of Caesar’s legions. In 22.16 Christ himself is the morning star, but it is hardly likely that the meaning here is that Christ will give himself to those who conquer. A translation of “the morning star” may be “the star that appears (or, shines) at sunrise.” And in order to make some sense of this statement, a cultural footnote may be necessary, or else a note in a word list, or the translator may include the meaning here, as follows: “and to show that they are victorious, I will give them the morning star.”
Verses 26-28a are one very complex sentence. Good News Translation has restructured the material in order to make the text more intelligible, and translators are urged to do the same. Bible en français courant has:
• To those who shall have won the victory and who shall have continued to practice to the end what I want, I will give the power that I myself received from my Father: I will give them power over the nations, they will govern them with an iron authority and will shatter them to pieces like clay pots.
Another translation model for verses 26-28 is:
• I will let those people who are victorious (or, who conquer), who continue to obey my commands until the end of time (or, the world), have the same power to rule that my Father has given to me: I will let them have the authority to rule over all the nations (or, tribes). They will rule over them without mercy, and will shatter them into pieces just like people break pots made from clay. I will also give them the morning star to show (or, demonstrate) their victory.
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 .