angel

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The Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:

  • Pintupi-Luritja: ngaṉka ngurrara: “one who belongs in the sky” (source: Ken Hansen quoted in Steven 1984a, p. 116.)
  • Tetela, Kpelle, Balinese, and Mandarin Chinese: “heavenly messenger”
  • Shilluk / Igede: “spirit messenger”
  • Mashco Piro: “messenger of God”
  • Batak Toba: “envoy, messenger”
  • Navajo: “holy servant” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961; Igede: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Central Mazahua: “God’s worker” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Saramaccan: basia u Masa Gaangadu köndë or “messenger from God’s country” (source: Jabini 2015, p. 86)
  • Mairasi: atatnyev nyaa or “sent-one” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “word bringer” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
  • Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
  • Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article ): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Revelation 16:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 16:8:

  • Uma: “After that, the fourth angel spilled the contents of his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power/authority to burn people with its radiant-heat.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “After this, the fourth angel poured out the disaster in his bowl onto the sun. Immediately the sun became very hot, therefore mankind was burnt.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then that fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was made so that it could burn people.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then the fourth angel went and poured-out what was in his bowl on the sun, and the sun was permitted to become-hotter, so people were burned by its aforementioned extreme and fearful heat.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The fourth angel was next to pour out the contents of his bowl. The sun is what he poured on. The sun was given authority to extremely heat-through the people with its rays.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The fourth angel poured out the bowl he was holding upon the sun. Then the sun became much hotter. Overflowingly it burned the people because of its heat.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 16:8

On the sun: unlike the first three angels, who pour out the contents of their bowls on earth, this one pours his out on the sun. As a result the sun becomes much hotter than usual.

It was allowed: the sun is spoken of as God’s instrument, or servant. God authorizes it, or permits it, to burn people with its terrible heat. The same passive construction “it was given to him (or, them)” is used in the same sense of divine authorization in 6.4a; 7.2; 9.5; 13.7a, 15. Bible en français courant has “it was authorized,” and New International Version “the sun was given power to scorch.” The verb to scorch here and in verse 9 means “to burn” people, but not badly enough to cause their death. The fire is the heat from the sun. In languages that do not use the passive, one may say “and God allowed the sun to burn people with its fiery heat.”

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 .