The Greek in Revelation 14:20 that is translated as “blood” in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Traubenblut or “blood of the grapes.”
complete verse (Revelation 14:20)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 14:20:
- Uma: “So, those grape fruits are pressed outside the village and from that press flows out blood like the flowing of a stream. The distance of its flowing, was about three hundred kilometers. And its depth was almost two meters.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Na, the grapes are squeezed there in the winepress outside the city. What comes out of the winepress is blood like a flood flooding a distance of about three hundred kilometers and its depth is up to a horse’s bit.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the grape fruit was trampled on in the hole outside the city, and from the hole blood flowed for a distance of three hundred and twenty kilometers. The depth of the blood was a meter and a half.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “What he harvested was squeezed in the squeezing-place of grapes that was at the boundary of the town, and from-that-point, the blood flowed-out for three hundred and twenty kilometers and its depth being up to the neck of a horse.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Because as for as many as don’t acknowledge God, they were then punished outside the city, like what is done to ubas fruit which is crushed so that the juice will flow. For their blood flowed, really flooded till it had spread along some three hundred kilumitru and about one mitru and a half in depth.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “The grapes were pressed outside the city. There where the grapes were pressed, concerning the blood which came out, it was as deep as where the horse’s head is when it is held by reins. The blood spread out going for three hundred kilometers.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
distance (long / wide / high)
The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Translation commentary on Revelation 14:20
The wine press was trodden: this means, of course, that the grapes in the wine press were trampled on. Again the passive form of the verb is used. Given the fact that this is a figure of the punishment of the wicked, it would be very difficult to try to identify the ones who were treading on the grapes. But if a subject is required, one may use an unknown subject (agent) and say “They trod on the grapes and squeezed the juice out.” However, in languages that must identify the subject, one may say “God’s angels trod….”
Outside the city: the location of the winepress is new information, but it is given in such a way as to allow the reader to think that the wine press was taken outside the city for the grapes to be trampled on. New Jerusalem Bible tries to incorporate this information in the discourse in a normal way by placing it at the very beginning of the verse, as follows: “… and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God’s anger, outside the city.” The city here is Jerusalem.
Blood flowed from the wine press: instead of grape juice it is blood that flows out.
As high as a horse’s bridle: some take the Greek text to mean “as high as the bridles of the horses,” by which it is implied that warriors on war horses were riding through this flood of blood. But it seems better to take the Greek to mean the depth of the flow of blood, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation interpret it. If the expression makes sense, it can be retained; otherwise it will be better to imitate Good News Translation and say “about five feet deep” or “about a meter and a half deep.”
One thousand six hundred stadia: it is not certain whether the figure 1600 has a symbolic meaning, so it is better to give the distance in modern terms. A stade was a Greek measure of distance, 607 feet or 185 meters long; the total distance comes to 184 miles or 296 kilometers. New Revised Standard Version has now “for a distance of about two hundred miles.”
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 14:20
14:20a
And the winepress was trodden: The clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊They/Someone⌋ trod on them
trodden: This word refers to standing hard on something. The angels or someone stomped on the grapes to squeeze the juice out.
outside the city: These verses do not say which city this is. It might be Jerusalem or some other city. You should not say which city it is in your translation.
14:20b
blood: The blood here is probably a metaphor for God’s judgment and punishment of evil people.
it: Here this word refers to the winepress.
14:20c
the bridles of the horses: This phrase refers to a height of about 1.4–1.7 meters (4.5–5.5 feet).
In some languages people are not familiar with horses. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain the height in your translation. For example:
the horses’ heads/necks (about 1.5 meters)
-or-
the horses’ heads/necks (about five feet)
• Explain the height in a footnote. For example:
This would be about 1.5 meters high.
• Refer to shoulder or neck or eye height of people. For example:
men’s shoulders/neck
You may then want a footnote to explain the literal. For example:
Literally: “the horses’ bridles.”
bridles: This word refers to the equipment on a horse’s head to guide the horse. It includes the straps around the head and probably a mouthpiece.
the horses: The word horses refers to large, four-legged animals that weigh 500 kilograms (1100 pounds) or more. They are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) high at the back. People ride horses.
In some languages people are not familiar with horses. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain the word in your translation. For example:
riding animals’
• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
A horse is a large, four-legged animal that weighs 500 kilograms or more. They are about 1.5 meters high at the back. People ride horses.
1,600 stadia: The Roman distance unit of measure is a stadium (plural is stadia). It is about 185 meters (607 feet). So 1,600 stadia is about 300 kilometers (180 miles). It is approximately the distance that Judea is from its northern border to its southern border. You may want to:
• Use the Roman measure, as the Berean Standard Bible does. You may then want to explain the distance in a footnote. For example:
This is about 300 kilometers.
-or-
About 180 miles.
• Use the common measure in your area. For example:
300 kilometers
-or-
180 miles
-or-
39,000 paces
-or-
the distance of walking 72 hours
You may then want to explain the literal words in a footnote. For example:
Literally: “1,600 stadia.” The Roman measure of a stadium (plural is “stadia”) is about 185 meters.
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