sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

complete verse (Revelation 13:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 13:17:

  • Uma: “They were not allowed to buy or sell if there was not that sign on their hand or their forehead. The sign of that animal was the name of the first animal or the number [Indonesian: angka] that is a figure-of-speech for his name.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Nobody could buy or sell anything if he had not been marked. That mark was the name of the first creature or a number standing for his name.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And anyone who would not let himself be marked with the mark which was the name of the first beast and the number of his name, they cannot buy and they cannot sell.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He did that so that absolutely no person would sell or buy if he were not marked with the name of the preceding fearsome animal or the number that was the sign of his name.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It was really not possible to buy or sell for those who didn’t have the mark/brand which was the name of that monster or the number which signifies it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “No one could buy and no one could sell if they did not have the mark of the name of the terrible animal or of how much the number was that accompanied his name.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 13:17

No one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: here buy or sell includes business of any kind that involves exchange of money. In some languages it may be more natural to say “Only those who had this mark could buy or sell.”

The name of the beast: that is, the name of the first beast.

The number of its name: in some languages, including Hebrew and Greek, numbers were represented by letters, and each letter had a numerical value. The number of a name would be the sum total of the numerical value of the letters of that name.

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 13:17

13:17a–b

the name of the beast or the number of its name:
The Berean Standard Bible uses a long dash after 13:17a to indicate that 13:17b explains that the mark was the beast’s name or the number of its name. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other marks that John was thinking of and only this one was the beast’s name or the number of its name. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it tells more about this mark. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

It is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

the name of the beast: This phrase refers to name of the first beast.

the number of its name: There are many ways to interpret this phrase. Some possibilities are:

(1) It indicates that the number in 13:18d is strictly symbolic. For example, three sixes may refer to three beings, namely, the dragon and the two beasts. They always fall short of God and perfection, often represented by the number seven.

(2) Add up the numbers of the beast’s name based on a numbering system using the Greek or Hebrew alphabet. The total would be 666.

(3) Each number represents a Greek letter (“Α” = 1, “Β” = 2, and so forth). One possible solution for “666” would be “ZZZ” in the Greek alphabet. This would be the initials of the beast’s name.

You should translate this phrase so that it allows these interpretations. For example:

the number that stands for the name (Good News Translation)

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