Translation commentary on Revelation 10:7

In the days of: it is more natural to say “at the time when,” since it is obvious that the trumpet blast would not last several days. Revised English Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy have “when the time comes”; Translator’s New Testament “at the time of”; New Jerusalem Bible “at the time when.”

The mystery of God … should be fulfilled: here mystery stands for God’s plan, as yet unrevealed (see 1.20). God’s plan is to fulfill his purposes for humanity by means of Jesus Christ. Beckwith defines it as follows: “the purpose of God to bring his kingdom to its consummation—a purpose hidden from the world but in the end to be fully revealed in its accomplishment.”

Fulfilled: to fulfill is to accomplish, to complete, to bring to intended final form. In certain languages it will be expressed as “bear fruit.” So this clause may also be rendered as “Then God will let it (or, cause it to) happen according to his secret plan (or, purpose)” or “Then God will cause his secret plan to take place (or, be completed).”

As he announced to his servants the prophets: the verb “announce” is the same that is translated “to proclaim the Good News” (see Good News Bible Luke 8.1). A prophet is one who proclaimed God’s message (see “prophecy” in 1.3). Here the reference can be to the prophets of the Old Testament; but it seems more likely that it refers to Christian prophets (see the same phrase in 11.18). In this context, what God announced to them was the time when he intended to fulfill his plan. So it is also possible to say “at the time which he has announced to his servants….” For prophets discussed in the context of “prophetic message,” see 1.3, and for servants see 1.1.

The following may serve as a model for translating the angel’s message in verses 6b-7:

• “God will not delay (or, wait) any longer! He will act as soon as the seventh angel blows his trumpet. He will complete his secret plan, as he announced to his servants, the prophets.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 10:7

10:7a

But: The conjunction But indicates contrast to the long delay up to this time. It does not indicate contrast to the end of the delay (10:6e). Some ways to translate this conjunction are:

• Indicate that the contrast is only with the word “delay.” For example:

rather ⌊than more delay⌋ ,
-or-
instead ⌊of more delay⌋ ,

• Leave the conjunction implied. Some English versions omit it.

in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound his trumpet: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is about to :

(1) The word means soon before. For example:

In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet (God’s Word)

(2) The word means at that time. For example:

when the seventh angel blows his trumpet (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it is the usual meaning of the Greek word.

10:7b

the mystery of God: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mystery refers to truth or knowledge that is not known. People cannot discover this truth or knowledge by seeking it on their own. Someone else must reveal it to them.

God’s plan is a mystery, because it comes from him and only he knows it fully. Here, the phrase the mystery of God refers to all or some part of that plan. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

God’s secret plan
-or-
the hidden purpose of God (Revised English Bible)

will be fulfilled: This phrase indicates that God’s plan will be completed or finished. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

will be accomplished (New International Version)
-or-
will be completed (God’s Word)

10:7c

just as He proclaimed to His servants the prophets: This clause indicates that God had earlier told his prophets about his secret plan, called “the mystery of God” in 10:7b. Other ways to translate this clause are:

as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled. (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
as he promised to his servants the prophets. (Revised English Bible)

In some languages it is more natural to translate this clause as a complete sentence. For example:

It will happen just as he announced it to his servants the prophets. (New Living Translation (2004))

proclaimed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proclaimed refers to telling others good news. Here the good news was the prophecies about the mystery of God. Other ways to translate this word are:

announced (New International Version)
-or-
made this good news known (God’s Word)

His servants the prophets: This phrase indicates that the prophets were God’s servants. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the prophets who served him
-or-
his servants, namely, the prophets

servants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servants can also be translated as “slaves.” Here the word refers to prophets serving God. They do this when they listen to God speaking to them, write what he said, and tell others the message. Another way to translate this word is:

those who serve him

See how you translated this word in 7:3.

prophets: A prophet is a person whom God uses to communicate with the people. The message (often called a “prophecy”) may include a vision, as in Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 8. A prophecy may reveal something about past events, current events, or future events. The prophet speaks God’s message to the people or writes it down for their use. See how you translated the similar word “prophetess” in 2:20.

General Comment on 10:7a–c

God told his prophets what would happen before it actually happened. In some languages it is more natural to describe God telling the prophets first in this verse. For example:

God told his secret plans to his servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. (Contemporary English Version)

© 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.