Hades / Sheol

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is often translated in English as “Hades” or “Sheol” is translated in the German Luther Bible 2017 (and pre-1912) as Totenreich or “realm (or: kingdom) of the dead” in these verses. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sheol .

judge vs. condemn

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)

See also do not condemn.

complete verse (Revelation 20:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 20:13:

  • 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: “All the dead from the sea appeared and faced God. Likewise also all the dead in the graves, in the afterworld, they all appeared and faced God. And they were judged each one about what they had done while they lived.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then the dead from the sea and land came out, whose souls were in the place of the dead. And they were all judged because of what they had done.” (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: “Yes indeed, all who were there in the place where the dead go, including those who died at sea, they were all gathered to be pronounced judgment upon according to what each had done.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “All of the dead people who had died in the sea were all there. No matter how many people had died, yet all were there. All were judged according to what each one had done.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 20:13

The sea gave up the dead in it: here the sea (see 10.2) is pictured as a living being, allowing the dead it held to go and stand with the others before God’s throne. Those who had died at sea were not thought of as going to Sheol, the world of the dead, but as remaining there in the depths of the water. If this kind of statement is not possible in some languages, the translation can say “Then the dead in the sea also went to be judged by God” or “Then … for God to judge them.” The same can be done for the next statement, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them. For Death and Hades see 1.18; 6.8. They are also spoken of as living beings (as in 6.8).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Then the people who had died in the sea went for God to judge them. Death and the world of the dead gave up the dead people in them, and God judged them all according to their deeds (or, the things they had done).

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 20:13

20:13a–c

This verse explains more about where the dead people came from. The events in this verse occur before God judged people in 20:12. See the General Comment on 20:12a–13c below.

20:13a

The sea gave up its dead: The Greek clause is literally “The sea gave the dead in it.” It symbolically represents the idea that the people who died in the sea came before God.

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you should translate the correct meaning. For example:

Those who died in the sea came
-or-
All of those who had died in the sea were there
-or-
All the dead from the sea came and stood ⌊before God⌋

sea: The word sea refers to a large body of water. A sea is often so large that someone standing on one side cannot see the other side. Here the word sea refers to seas and oceans in general. See how you translated this word in 5:13 or 18:17.

20:13b

Death and Hades gave up their dead: The Greek clause is literally “death and Hades gave the dead in them.” It symbolically represents the idea that the dead people in Hades and anywhere else came before God.

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

Those held by death or who were in Hades came
-or-
All of those who were in the place of the dead and all the other dead people were there
-or-
All the dead in the afterworld and anywhere else came ⌊and stood before God⌋

Hades: This word refers to the place where the souls of dead people live before God judges everyone. Some ways to translate Hades are:

• Use the name in your language for the place where the souls of dead people live.

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

the land/place of the dead people
-or-
the world of the dead (Good News Translation)

• Use the Greek word and explain it in your translation. For example:

Hades, ⌊the place of the dead⌋

See how you translated this word in 1:18 or 6:8.

20:13c

each one was judged according to his deeds: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. God judged each one. For example:

⌊God⌋ judged each person

General Comment on 20:12a–13c

20:13c repeats most of what 20:12d says. Both verses refer to one event of judging. 20:13a–b says where the dead people came from. Your translation should clearly indicate that 20:12d–13c refers to one event and not two events. You may want to:

• Indicate at the beginning of 20:13a that 20:13a–c explains more about the dead in 20:12a. For example:

13a
⌊For⌋ the sea gave…
-or-

13a
⌊Indeed,⌋ the sea gave…

• Put 20:13a–c before 20:12a and do not repeat the event of judging. For example:

13a The sea gave up the dead that were in it, 13b and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. 12a I saw them all, great and small, standing before the throne, 12b and books were opened. 12c Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. 12d,13c The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

You would then mark these words with the combined verse numbers “12–13.”

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