complete verse (Revelation 22:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 22:4:

  • Uma: “and see his appearance with their own eyes. The name of God was written on their foreheads.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They will see God’s face and God’s name will be written on their foreheads.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They shall see His face, and upon their foreheads will be written His name.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They will see his face, and his name, it will be written on their foreheads.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They will see his face and his name will be written on their foreheads.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “These people will see the face of God. And the name of God is written on the foreheads of the people.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

name (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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-na (御名) or “name (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

face (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Revelation 22:4

They shall see his face: “they will see God face to face.” What has always been impossible (see Exo 33.20; 1 Tim 6.16) will then be possible (see Matt 5.8; 1 John 3.2).

His name shall be on their foreheads: that is, the name of God (see 14.1).

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 22:4

22:4

They will see His face: No human has seen God’s face (Exodus 33:20, 1 Timothy 6:16). But God will make his people (“servants,” 22:3c) holy, so that they can come to him and see his face. This clause implies that they can speak personally with God. For example:

they will see him face to face (New Jerusalem Bible)

His: This pronoun probably refers to God here.

His name will be on their foreheads: This clause indicates that the people belong to God and have a relationship with him.

In some languages people will think the name on their foreheads has another purpose. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the correct meaning in your translation. For example:

his name will be on their foreheads ⌊to show that they belong to him⌋

• Explain the correct meaning in a footnote. For example:

The name on their foreheads indicates that the people belong to God and have a relationship with him.

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Sung version of Revelation 22

Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).

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