Translation commentary on Revelation 20:6

Blessed and holy: for Blessed see 1.3; holy here has the meaning of being completely dedicated to God, belonging entirely to him. Neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation has done an adequate job of representing the meaning in this context. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “Happy are those who participate in the first resurrection, for they belong to the holy people.” And Barclay has “God’s joy will come to the man who has a share in the first resurrection! He is one of God’s dedicated people.” These two translations are better.

He who shares in the first resurrection: the gender-inclusive plural should be used in languages where the singular excludes any women, “those who experience this first resurrection,” or “those who are raised from death at this time,” or “those whom God raises from death at this time,” or “those whom God causes to come back to life at this time.”

Over such the second death has no power: only at verse 14 is the reader told precisely what the second death is. It is better not to give that information here; and the mention of the first resurrection makes it possible for the reader to get some idea of what the second death means. But if the literal phrase the second death carries no meaning or carries the wrong meaning, then a translation can say “Those who take part in the first resurrection will not experience the second death, that is, eternal death in the lake of fire.”

They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign: “they shall serve as priests of God and the Messiah, and they will rule as kings.” See 1.6; 5.10.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• Those who are included among the ones who will be raised from death at this time are happy indeed; they are God’s own people. They will not die the second time, but they will be priests in the service of God and of the Messiah, and they will reign with him for one thousand years.

Or:

• Those whom God raises from death at this time are happy indeed; they are his own people. They will not be destroyed in the lake of fire like dying a second time, but they will serve God and his Chosen Savior as priests, and will rule….

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 20:6

20:6a

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection!: The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions have the description of the people before mentioning the people. This is an English poetic style. In some languages it is more natural to have the description second. For example:

Those who have part in the first resurrection are blessed and holy

Blessed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Blessed describes a person who is a good situation. In the Bible, the good situation results from God showing favor/kindness to the person.

This word does not primarily refer to a feeling. However, a person in this good situation will frequently have good feelings like happiness and joy. Do not use a word that only refers to material prosperity or physical health.

Other ways to translate this word are:

Favored
-or-
How good it is
-or-
In a good/desirable position ⌊in God’s eyes⌋
-or-
Shown kindness ⌊by God⌋

See how you translated this word in 1:3 or 19:9.

holy: Here the word holy refers to being set apart for special service to God. It probably also implies being without sin. Other ways to translate this word are:

devoted to God
-or-
set apart
-or-
pure/blameless/sinless

See how you translated this word in 14:10.

who share in the first resurrection: This clause refers to people who come back to life during the first resurrection. Other ways to translate this clause are:

who share in the first resurrection (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
who are included in this first raising of the dead (Good News Translation)

20:6b

second death: The first death is when a person’s body dies on earth. He is then separated from the things of the earth. The phrase second death refers to being thrown into the lake of fire (20:14–15). In some languages it is necessary to translate death as a verb. For example:

⌊event of⌋ dying a second time

second: The word second refers to the next item after the first one. If counted, this item would be counted as number two. See how you translated this word in 4:7 or 8:8.

has no power over them: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as power can also mean “authority.” The second death will not affect believers. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

cannot touch such men (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
will not affect them
-or-
They will not be included in the second death

20:6c–d

but: This conjunction introduces a contrast to the second death having no power over these believers. Some languages will not indicate contrast here. For example:

and

In some languages it is more natural to allow the context to indicate the connection and not translate the conjunction. For example:

They will be priests…. (Contemporary English Version)

priests: A Jewish priest was a religious leader who:

(a) offered sacrifices to God for the people,

(b) led the people in worship,

(c) taught the people about God.

Here the word priests refers figuratively to people who serve God as a way of life. They worship God and help others to worship him also.

In some languages the usual word or phrase for priests cannot be used figuratively in that way. If that is true in your language, you should translate the meaning in a non-figurative way. For example:

those who always serve God
-or-
people doing God’s will/desire as a way of life
-or-
people whose job is to worship God

See how you translated this word in 1:6 and 5:10.

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