plague

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “plague” in English is translated in Bariai as “killing-off” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Katastrophe or Katastrophenschlag, i.e. “disaster” or “disastrous strike.”

prophesy

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The Hebrew and the Greek that are translated in English versions as “prophesy” are translated into Anuak as “sing a song” (source: Loren Bliese), into Balanta-Kentohe as “passing on message of God” (source: Rob Koops), and into Ixcatlán Mazatec with a term that does not only refer to the future, but is “speak on behalf of God” (source: Robert Bascom).

Other translations include: “God making someone to show something in advance” (Ojitlán Chinantec), “God causing someone to think and then say it” (Aguaruna), “speaking God’s thoughts” (Shipibo-Conibo), “God made someone say something” “Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac) (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125), “proclaim God’s message” (Teutila Cuicatec), “speak for God” (Chichimeca-Jonaz), “preach the Word of God” (Lalana Chinantec), “speak God’s words” (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), “that which God’s Spirit will cause one to say one will say” (Mayo) (source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “say what God wants people to hear” (tell people God wod dat e gii oona fa say) (Gullah) (source: Robert Bascom), and “bring God’s mouth” (Bariai) (source: Bariai Back Translation).

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:

  • For Acts 3:18, 3:21, 3:25: nurwowohora — “mouth says words that don’t come from one’s own mind.” (“This term refers to an individual’s speaking words that are not his because either a good or bad spirit is at work through him. The speaker is not in control of himself.”)
  • For Acts 19:6, Acts 21:9: nakotnohora — “talk about.” (“The focus of this term is on telling God’s message for the present as opposed to the future.”)
  • For Acts 21:11: rora — “foretell” (“The focus of this term is giving God’s message concerning the future. The person who speaks is aware of what he is doing and he is using his own mind, yet it is with God’s power that he foretells the future.”)

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

See also prophet and prophesy / prophetic frenzy.

complete verse (Revelation 11:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 11:6:

  • Uma: “They have power/authority to close/cover the sky so that rain will not fall while they are carrying the Word of the Lord. They also have power over every river so that the water turns into blood. There is also their power to hurt the world with all kinds of plagues/tormentings, whenever they want to do it.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They have authority to shut the sky so that it will not rain as long as they make-known God’s message. They also have authority to turn the springs of water into blood and they have authority to bring any kind of disaster here to the world whenever they want to.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They will be given power that they might be able to hinder the clouds so that it will not rain during the time they are preaching the Word of God. And they will also have power so that they might turn to blood the water in the springs. And they will also have power so that they might punish people by means of any kind of plague at any time they want.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They were also given ability to cause-it-to-be-dry-season so it would absolutely not rain during the time when they were telling what God had made-known to them. They also had ability to cause-springs -to-turn-into blood and they were also able to hardship people on the earth with whatever-kind of hardship however-many-times, if that’s what they wanted.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They will be given authority and ability to as-it-were close the sky, so that it won’t rain during the time when they are teaching the word of God. They will also be given authority to cause water to become blood, and to set in motion whatever kind of epidemic here in the world if they want to.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These have power to be able to cause that it doesn’t rain during the days they speak the word of God. And also they have power to be able to cause water to turn into blood. And they have power to cause here on earth bad sickness at whatever time they want it to happen.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

sky

Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this record (“heaven”).

Norm Mundhenk (in The Bible Translator 2006, p. 92ff. ) describes the difficulty that English translations face (click or tap here to see more):

“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)

“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.

“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.

“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.

“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)

“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.

“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).

“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)

“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”

Other languages that have a semantic distinction similar to English include:

  • Hungarian: ég — “sky”; menny — “heaven”
  • Tagalog: kalawakan — “sky”; langit/kalangitan — “heaven”
  • Swedish: sky — “sky”; Himmel — “heaven”
  • Loma: “up” — “sky”; “God’s place” — heaven”
  • Mossi: saase — “sky”; nyingeri — “the up above”(source for Loma and Mossi: Bratcher/Nida)
  • Roviana: mamaṉa — “sly”; maṉauru — “heaven” (an old word, meaning “empty, open space of the sky”) (source: Carl Gross)
  • Kayaw: mô̄la or “canopy-under”/mô̄khû̄la or “canopy-above-under” — “sky” (atmosphere where there is just air); mô̄khû̄ or “canopy-on/above” — “heaven” (invisible abode of God and angels)
  • Burmese: မိုး ကောင်း ကင်/moe kaungg kain — “sky”; ကောင်း ကင်/kaungg kain — “sky” or “heaven”; ကောင်း ကင်ဗုံ/kaungg kain bone — “heaven”
  • Mairasi: Sinyavi — an indigenous term that is used for both “sky” and heaven”; Surga — loanword from Sanskrit via Indonesian referring to “heaven” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: worl — “sky”; Boolanga-Yirakang Boodjer — “Country of God” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kupsabiny: “up” for “sky” vs. “God’s Homestead” for “heaven” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

In some languages, such as Yagaria, a term that was originally used as “sky” (gokudana) was adopted by the Christian community as “heaven.” This resulted in a language shift so that now all communities uses “empty space / air” (galogina or hakalogina) as “sky” and gokudana is exclusively used for the Christian concept of heaven. (Source: Renck 1990, p. 133)

Many languages follow the original biblical languages in not making that distinction, such as:

In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)

The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”

Translation commentary on Revelation 11:6

Power: or “authority” (Good News Translation), or “the right.” This is given them by God, and it may be that in some languages it will be better to translate “God has given them the authority (or, power).”

To shut the sky: where this figure of speech makes no sense or makes the wrong sense, it may be necessary to say simply “to stop the rain from falling”; in English the normal way to say this is “to keep it from raining.” This is the power that the prophet Elijah had (see 1 Kgs 17.1; 18.1; Luke 4.25; James 5.17).

During the days of their prophesying: the drought caused by Elijah lasted into the third year (1 Kgs 18.1, 43-45), that is, it lasted not quite three years. But Luke 4.25 and James 5.17 show that it had become three and a half years. Days of their prophesying may also be rendered as “the time when they proclaimed God’s message.”

Power over the waters to turn them into blood: this is the power that Moses exercised (Exo 7.14-21). Instead of “the springs of water” (Good News Translation), the meaning of the Greek the waters may be better expressed by “all bodies of water” or “to turn water into blood.”

To smite the earth with every plague: this is the power that Moses had to bring the plagues down on Egypt (see 9.18). The verb to smite is used also in 19.15; it means “to strike,” “to hit,” “to injure,” “to wound.” For plague see 9.18. Translators in some languages will express this sentence as “to cause every kind of calamity (or, terrible trouble) to injure those living on the earth.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• God has given them authority to stop the rain from falling during the time they proclaim his message. They have also received the authority to turn water into blood, and to cause all kinds of terrible calamities to hurt (or, strike) the earth. They can do this as often as they want to.

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 11:6

11:6a–b

These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall: This clause indicates that the two witnesses are able to prevent rain from falling. God gave them the authority to do this. It is implied that they actually do shut the sky. Other ways to translate this clause are:

They have authority to shut up the sky so that there will be no rain (Good News Translation)
-or-
These witnesses have authority to shut the sky in order to keep rain from falling (God’s Word)
-or-
These men are able to shut the sky so it does not rain ⌊and they do so⌋

These witnesses: The Greek word is literally “These.” The ending on the Greek word may imply two men or a man and a woman. Other ways to translate this Greek word are:

These two (Revised English Bible)
-or-
They (Contemporary English Version)

power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall: The word shut symbolically indicates that the witnesses are able to prevent rain from falling.

In some languages the meaning of this figure of speech is not clear or natural. If that is true in your language, translate its meaning. For example:

the power to stop the sky from raining (New Century Version)
-or-
able to prevent any rain ⌊from falling⌋

11:6b

during the days of their prophecy: This phrase refers to the 1,260 days in 11:3b. It may imply that the witnesses would prevent rain over the whole earth during that whole time. Or it may imply that they would prevent rain over different parts of the earth for shorter times. You should translate this phrase so that it allows either interpretation. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

during the days of their prophesying (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
while they are prophesying (Contemporary English Version)

the days of their prophecy: This phrase refers to the 1,260 days when God gives the witnesses messages to tell the people. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the time they speak what God has revealed (God’s Word)
-or-
the time when they were telling people what God has revealed to them

11:6c

and power to turn the waters into blood: It is again implied that the witnesses actually do what they have the power or ability to do. For example:

they are able to change the waters into blood ⌊and they do so⌋

the waters: The word waters refers generally to springs, rivers, lakes, oceans, and underground water. Use a word or phrase that can refer generally to various bodies of water. For example:

various bodies of water
-or-
all kinds/sorts of bodies of water

Some languages cannot refer generally to various bodies of water. If that is true in your language, list several different bodies of water. For example:

the rivers and oceans (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the oceans, rivers, and lakes

11:6d

strike the earth with every kind of plague: This clause refers to causing plagues that hurt people. People everywhere will be affected. Other ways to translate this clause are:

afflict the earth with every kind of plague (Revised English Bible)
-or-
cause all kinds of plagues on people over the whole earth

plague: This word refers to disasters that harm a lot of people. It can refer to diseases that kill many people. It can refer to locusts that damage many crops. Some languages do not have a general word such as plague. If that is true in your language, you may need to use a descriptive phrase. For example:

calamities/disasters that cause much death
-or-
things that cause people to suffer

See how you translated this word in 9:18.

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