12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books.
The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 20:12:
Uma: “And I saw dead people, those whose lives were small or big, standing in front of that Chair. People who died drowned in the sea, other people who had died, all the people who were in the place of the dead, they all stood in front of that Chair. And the books were examined. In those books were written the deeds of those dead ones. So, the punishment of all those dead ones was determined/set according to what was written in those books, their punishment according to their deeds. And another book was also opened, called the Book of Life.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then I saw all the dead, children and adults, of high or low status standing there facing that throne. And then the books were opened including the book for writing the names of the people who are given life without end. Then all the dead were judged each one about/concerning what they had done when they were alive, because everything was written there in the books.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And I saw all the dead, large in status, and small in status, standing before the seat of ruling. Books were opened and also was opened the book where those who are given life were listed. Other books were opened where were written the things people did when they were still alive because they were to be judged because of what they did for it was written in the books.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I also saw all the dead who were important and unimportant (lit. high and low) standing in front of the ruler. All that came-from Hades the place of the dead were there, as well as all who had died in the ocean (lit. the ocean had taken). The book in which was written the names of those who had life that has no end was opened. The books in which were written what people had done were also opened, and each one was judged according to what he had done which was written in those books.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then what followed which I saw next was, all the people who have died, they were standing there in front of that king’s seat. High and low-class, they were all there. As I watched, the rolled-up writings were opened. And then that one was opened in which were written the names of as many as would be given life which is without ending. And then all the people were pronounced judgment upon according to what each had done while still alive which were written in those writings.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I saw then the dead people there where God was, little and big. The books were opened. And also another book was opened. It is the book which says who all have encountered the new life. These dead people then were judged according to how they had walked. Because concerning all that they had done, all was written in the books.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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) can be used, as in mi-za (御座), mi-kura (みくら) (Psalm 7:7), or mi-kurai (御位) (Psalm 113:5) in the referenced verses, all relating to the “throne (or: high seat) (of God)”. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The dead, great and small: this means all who have died, including important and common people (see 11.18; 13.16; 19.5, 18). These are “the rest of the dead” of verse 5, that is, all the rest of humanity in addition to the resurrected martyrs. As verse 5 makes clear, these dead people have been raised to life for this final judgment; but the text here does not explicitly say they have been resurrected. The text also says nothing of any persons who are alive at the time of the Final Judgment.
Books were opened: presumably the attending angels opened these books, the ones in which the actions of all people are recorded. In some languages it will be necessary to say “they (unknown subjects) opened the books.”
Another book … the book of life: see 3.5; 13.8.
Were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done: this can be stated “were judged according to what they had done, as recorded (or, written) in the books.” For by what they had done, compare “as your works deserve” in 2.23. In languages that do not use the passive, one may say “God judged them according to what (or, the things) they had done, as he had recorded it in the books.”
Beginning with books were opened the translation can read as follows:
• … and the books in which the actions of all people had been recorded were opened. And then another book was opened, the book containing the names of those who will live forever with God. All the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded (or, written) in the books.
Or:
• … they opened the books in which God had recorded the actions of all people. Then they opened another book. This book contained the names of those people who will live forever with God. He judged all the dead people according to what they had done, as he had recorded it in the books.
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 .
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne:
The conjunction And here introduces something else that John saw. For example:
I also saw… (Contemporary English Version)
the dead: This phrase refers to people who have died. For example:
all the dead people (Contemporary English Version)
great and small: This phrase refers to people of high status and low status. It implies people of all classes and position in society. The phrase does not refer to physical size. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
great and humble -or-
both of high and lowly position/place -or-
Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. (Contemporary English Version)
See how you translated this phrase in 11:18 or 19:18. The order of the words (“small and great” instead of “great and small”) does not change the meaning of the phrase.
20:12b–c
And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life: In the Greek, these clause are passive. Some languages must use active clauses. God or someone on his behalf opened the books. For example:
⌊someone⌋ opened books. Then ⌊someone⌋ opened another book -or-
⌊God had someone⌋ open some books. Then ⌊God had him⌋ open another book -or-
⌊God⌋ opened some books. Then ⌊God⌋ opened another book
20:12c
the Book of Life: This phrase refers to a Book that has in it the names of people to whom God will give eternal Life. Some languages must translate the meaning in a more specific way. For example:
the book ⌊in which are the names⌋ of ⌊those who have⌋ ⌊eternal⌋ life -or-
the book ⌊with/having the names⌋ of ⌊those to whom God will give⌋ ⌊eternal⌋ life
See how you translated this phrase in 3:5 or 17:8.
20:12d
And the dead were judged: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊God⌋ judged the dead
according to their deeds, as recorded in the books: The verb recorded is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. God wrote the names in the books, or had someone write the names in the books. For example:
what they had done as ⌊God⌋ had written in the books -or-
what they had done as ⌊God has caused⌋ ⌊someone⌋ to write in the books
according to their deeds, as recorded: This phrase indicates that the deeds were written in the books at an earlier time. For example:
all that they had done, which had been recorded ⌊earlier⌋
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