Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 22:7:
Uma: “The Lord Yesus said: ‘I am about to arrive-e’! [particle connoting: ‘watch out, listen up!’] Blessed/Fortunate are the people who follow the advice written in this letter of foretelling.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘Listen,’ says Isa. ‘My coming is near. Happy are the people who believe-obey what is foretold in this book.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus says, ‘I am coming soon! All who obey My words which have been revealed to you in this book will greatly rejoice.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Jesus says, ‘Listen to this. My coming will-be soon. Fortunate is the person who is following what has been prophesied in this book.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘You (pl.) must listen,’ is what Jesus said. ‘It is really certain that I will come before long.’ Therefore he can be happy who really obeys all this which has now been caused to be comprehended, which is contained here in this writing.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Then Jesus said: ‘It will be soon when I come,’ he said. The good fortune will be met by the people who believe the word here and will do the words which this book says.” (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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
And behold, I am coming soon: see 3.11; for behold see 1.7. Revised Standard Version prints this statement as part of the direct speech beginning in verse 6. This means that Revised Standard Version probably takes the speaker in verse 6 to be Jesus, not the angel, for it is Jesus who promises to come soon (see verses 12, 20). Some translations are like Revised Standard Version; it is better, however, to take the speaker in verse 6 as the angel, and Jesus as the speaker in verse 7a. New Revised Standard Version has closing quotation marks at the end of verse 6 and opening quotation marks at the beginning of verse 7. This indicates two different speakers, but in neither case does New Revised Standard Version specify who is the speaker. Bible en français courant and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, like Good News Translation, identify the speaker here as Jesus.
A translation like Good News Translation, that translates “Listen!” (instead of Revised Standard Version‘s outmoded behold), will have a problem if, like Portuguese, Spanish, French, and other languages, there are separate forms for the singular and the plural of the verb. If a translation chooses to say “Listen” or “Pay attention,” or something similar, and has to be specific as to whether the command is in the singular or the plural form, it is better to use the plural (as Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje does), since the words are not addressed solely to John but to all believers, to all the readers (and hearers) of this book. In some languages it will be necessary to say “All of you must listen” or “Listen, all of you!”
Blessed: see 1.3.
He who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book: see 1.3. The reference to this book seems to imply that it is John himself who says this. So it is better to follow Revised Standard Version (and New Revised Standard Version) and make verse 7b a separate paragraph. For the verb “to keep,” meaning “to obey,” see 1.3; 3.8; 12.17; 14.12. The prophecy of this book may also be expressed as “the words of this book that tell about present and future events” or “what this book tells will happen now and later (or, in the future).”
To repeat what has been said about the speakers in verses 6-7: in verse 6a the speaker is the angel; in verse 6b the speaker may be John, but this is not certain; in verse 7a Jesus speaks; in verse 7b the writer of the book is the speaker.
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Jesus says, “You [plural] must listen! I am coming soon.”
Or:
• Happy are those people who obey all the things that are said in this book about what will happen now and later.
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 .
“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.”: The Greek does not say who spoke these words. There are several interpretations:
(1) Jesus spoke the words in 22:7a–b. For example:
“Listen!” says Jesus. “I am coming soon! Happy are those who obey the prophetic words in this book!” (Good News Translation)
(2) The angel also spoke the words in 22:7a and John wrote the words in 22:7b. For example:
6c to show his servants what must soon take place. 7a And behold, I am coming soon.” 7b Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. (Revised Standard Version)
(3) The angel also spoke the words in 22:7a–b. For example:
6c to show his servants the things that must happen soon. 7a I’m coming soon! 7b Blessed is the one who follows the words of the prophecy in this book.” (God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
The Greek and the Berean Standard Bible do not introduce the new speaker. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that the angel spoke these words. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Indicate who spoke in your translation. For example:
⌊Jesus said,⌋ “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”
• Explain who spoke in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Jesus probably said this.
22:7a
Behold: This word means “look.” The word emphasizes or calls attention to the words that follow. It is not a command to look at something. Other ways to translate this word are:
Look (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Listen (Good News Translation) -or-
Indeed/Hey
I am coming soon: This clause refers to Jesus returning to his people on earth. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as soon can also mean “without delay” or “quickly.” Other ways to translate this clause are:
I am coming quickly (New American Standard Bible) -or-
I am coming without delay
See how you translated this clause in 3:11.
22:7b
Blessed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Blessed describes a person who is in a good situation. In the Bible, the good situation results from God showing favor/kindness to the person. 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 20:6.
keeps the words of prophecy in this book: Here, the word keeps refers to following what was said and valuing it. Believers follow the words of this book and value it. Other ways to translate this clause are:
values the words of the prophecy in this book -or-
obey the prophetic words in this book (Good News Translation)
prophecy: The word prophecy refers to a message that God gives to someone. The message may include a vision, as in Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 8. A prophecy may reveal something about past events, current events, or future events. The prophet speaks the prophecy to the people or writes it for their use.
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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