Translation commentary on Revelation 21:8

In this verse eight different kinds of people are listed who will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. It is not implied that all are exclusive categories; what is meant is that any person guilty of any one or more of these sins will suffer the second death. For a similar list see 22.15.

Cowardly: people who were not courageous and constant in their Christian witness. To express the idea of cowardly, many languages use vivid idiomatic expressions; for example, “white-eyed people” (Thai).

Faithless: apostates, those who had renounced, or given up, their Christian faith. This may be expressed in many languages as “stopped believing in Jesus” or “turned their backs on Jesus.”

Polluted: this refers to those who were guilty of gross sins or heathen worship; in Greek it is the passive participle of the verb meaning “to make foul”; the related noun “pollution,” “abomination,” is used in 17.4, 5; 21.27. Other ways to express this are “people who have made themselves dirty (or, unclean) through worshiping idols” or “people who have committed foul (or, dirty) sins.”

Murderers: those who deliberately kill others, not in warfare.

Fornicators: those who indulge in immoral sexual activity; the word occurs again in 22.15. It is probable that here the word carries its normal meaning and is not a figure for idolatry.

Sorcerers: see comments on “sorceries” in 9.21; 18.23. These are people who regular do “sorcery.”

Idolaters: see “worshiping … idols” in 9.20; the word appears also in 22.15.

All liars: as in 21.27 and 22.15, those who lie are condemned to hell. See also 3.9.

Their lot shall be in the lake: here lot means destiny, which is condemnation and punishment. “They will be condemned to the lake,” or “they will be punished by being thrown into the lake,” or “I will punish them by throwing them into the lake.”

The lake that burns with fire and sulphur: see 19.20; 20.10.

The second death: see 20.14.

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 21:8

21:8a

the cowardly: This phrase usually refers to people who are afraid to do things. For example:

cowards (New Living Translation (2004))

Here it refers to people who are afraid to obey God. They are afraid of persecution and so they do not follow Jesus.

In some languages a literal translation would not imply the correct meaning here. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:

those afraid ⌊of persecution⌋

• Translate the literal meaning and explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Here “the cowardly” probably refers to people who are afraid of persecution. So they do not follow Jesus.

unbelieving: This phrase refers to people who choose not to believe in Jesus. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

unbelievers (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the faithless (Revised Standard Version)

abominable: This phrase refers to people who do disgusting and detestable things. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the obscene (Revised English Bible)
-or-
detestable people (God’s Word)

21:8b

murderers: This phrase refers to people who kill others deliberately and unlawfully. See how you translated the noun “murder” in 9:21 for a similar idea. But note that the word here refers to the people who commit these murders.

sexually immoral: This phrase refers to people who have sexual relations with anyone who is not their spouse. The word refers to both men and women. Use a word or phrase that refers to all kinds of sexual sin. For example:

adulterers/fornicators
-or-
those who sin sexually

21:8c

sorcerers: This phrase refers to people who do sorcery. The word refers to any method to get something by supernatural means. This could include using spells, magic potions, and contacting evil spirits. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

those who practice magic arts (New International Version)
-or-
those who practice/do sorcery or magic

See how you translated a similar phrase in 9:21 (“sorcery”).

idolaters: This phrase refers to people who consider certain images or statues to be gods or represent gods. They worship and pray to them. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

those who worship idols (Good News Translation)
-or-
worshippers of false gods (New Jerusalem Bible)

21:8d

their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur: This clause indicates that the sinners will go to this evil place and remain there. This will be their home. They will not be able to leave. Other ways to translate this clause are:

the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur (Good News Translation)
-or-
their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur (New Living Translation (2004))

the lake that burns with fire and sulfur: The Greek phrase is literally “the lake burning with fire and sulfur.” The phrase here has the same meaning as the phrase “the fiery lake of burning sulfur” in 19:20e. The phrase “the lake of fire and sulfur” in 20:10a has the same meaning also. For example:

the lake that burns with fire and sulfur (New Revised Standard Version)

21:8e

This: This word refers to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Other ways to translate this word are:

That place
-or-
which (Good News Translation)

the second death: The first death is when a person dies on earth and his body dies. The phrase the second death refers to being thrown into the lake of fire (20:14–15). Other ways to translate this clause are:

called the second death
-or-
the second time of dying

See how you translated this phrase in 20:6 or 20:14.

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