Translation commentary on Revelation 11:17

The translator should consider rendering verses 17-18 as poetry (see Section F of the introduction, “Translating the Revelation to John,” pages 6 and following).

We give thanks to thee: only here in Revelation is the verb “to give thanks” used.

Lord God Almighty: this may be expressed in various ways: “Lord, the Almighty God” or “Lord God, the Almighty One.” For the title Almighty see 1.8.

Who art and who wast: see 1.8. Some manuscript copyists added “and who is to come” (as in 1.4, 8), but this is not part of the original text here. Translator’s New Testament has a striking translation, “O God Almighty, Lord of the past and of the present.”

That: this is more naturally expressed in English by New Jerusalem Bible: “We give thanks to you … for (assuming your great power).” Another way of rendering this word is “because.”

Thou hast taken thy great power and begun to reign: this means that now God is making use of his great power, God is exercising his great power. If a direct object is needed after the verb to reign, something like “over the (whole) world” may be said.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• “(Lord) God who is all powerful (or, the strongest of all), who lives now and has always lived, we thank you that you are showing your great power and have begun to rule.

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 11:17

11:17a

saying: What the elders said was part of their worship (11:16b). For example:

with these words: (NET Bible)

In some languages it is more natural to begin a new sentence here. If that is true in your language, indicate that 11:17–18 is a part of the worship. For example:

⌊In worship⌋ they said

We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was:
Both the Greek and the Berean Standard Bible indicate first that the speakers begin to give thanks. The direct address and the descriptive phrase is in the middle of the spoken words.

In some languages it is more natural to have the direct address and the descriptive phrase first. For example:

Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, we give thanks to you

Almighty: This word is a title which means, “the one with the power to do anything.” For example:

the All-Powerful (NET Bible)

See how you translated this word in 1:8 or 4:8.

the One who is and who was: The elders spoke these words as a title for God. It indicates that God is eternal. Other ways to translate these words are:

the One who is and was
-or-
him who exists and ⌊who⌋ ⌊always⌋ existed

11:17b

You have taken Your great power: This clause indicates that God began to use his great power, probably in a new way. Those powers are described in the chapters of Revelation. Other ways to translate this clause are:

you have used your great power (New Century Version)
-or-
you have shown/exercised your great power
-or-
you have acted/worked very powerfully

have begun to reign: God has always reigned, but this clause refers to reigning in a new way. Other ways to translate this clause are:

have…entered upon your reign (Revised English Bible)
-or-
have begun ruling as king (God’s Word)

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