complete verse (Revelation 11:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 11:7:

  • Uma: “When they finished carrying the Word of the Lord, the evil animal will come to oppose them, defeat and kill them. (That evil animal is the animal that will appear from the sinkhole whose depth is not measured.)” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then when they have finished making-known God’s message, there will be a frightful creature/beast coming out from the bottomless hole and fight with them. The two will be defeated by him and he will kill them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And these two preachers, when they finished telling the Word of God, the beast who comes out of the pit whose depth has no end will fight against them. They will be defeated by this beast, and he will kill them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When their telling what God made-known to them is finished, a fearful animal will come-out from the prison below and he will wage-war-with them. He will defeat and kill them” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When the time has come which is the end of the length of this teaching of theirs, there will come out of that very, very deep ravine a strangely-different monster/man-eating-animal which will fight them. These testifiers will be defeated and killed by it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When they finished their work of speaking the word, the terrible animal who had come out of the hole without any end to its depth then made war with them. He conquered and killed these two.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 11:7

Paragraph 11:7–10

11:7a

(New International Version) Now: In the New International Version, the word Now introduces the next event, but it does not refer to our present time. The Berean Standard Bible and some other English translations omit this word. For example:

When (Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation)

testimony: The word testimony means “the words spoken about what one saw or heard.” The word testimony is often used when the person speaking is expected to be truthful and accurate (as in a court of law). Other ways to translate this word are:

witnessing (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
message that God told them ⌊to say⌋

Some languages translate this word using a verb. For example:

the truth/message revealed to them
-or-
proclaiming God’s message

See how you translated this word in 6:9. But, in particular, it refers to the words that God had given them to say, which John called prophesying in 11:3, 6. Your translation should at least imply that.

11:7b

beast: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beast refers to any animal, often a wild animal. The Berean Standard Bible uses the word beast to imply that this being is fierce, dangerous, or evil. Here the word refers to Satan or one of his servants, because they are fierce, dangerous, and evil.

In some languages a literal translation would not clearly indicate the symbolic meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Use a word that clearly refers to an evil creature or being. For example:

monster

• Explain the symbol in a footnote. For example:

The word “beast” refers to the devil or one of his servants. They are fierce, dangerous, and evil like wild beasts.

• Use the general word “animal” and explain that it is fierce, dangerous, or evil. For example:

⌊fierce/terrible⌋ animal

Abyss: The word Abyss refers to a very deep pit or chasm. The Greek word also refers to an underground place where the spirits of dead people and demons lived. It likely has that meaning here. Other ways to translate this word are:

bottomless pit (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
hole deep beyond measure
-or-
cave/cavern leading to the place of the dead

See how you translated this word in 9:1.

11:7c

overpower: This word indicates that the beast was successful in his attack against the two witnesses. For example:

defeat (Good News Translation)

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