naked

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “naked” in English is translated in Enlhet with a figure of speech: “(one’s) smoothness.” (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )

In Elhomwe the word for “naked” is “shameful to use, and would never be used by a preacher in church.” Therefore “without clothes” is used. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Revelation 3:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 3:17:

  • Uma: “You [emphatic] say that you are rich, your lives are complete, you no longer have any need. But in fact you do not even know how pitiful you are. You are saddening [i.e., make the observer’s heart well up with sadness], you are poor, you are blind, and you are naked in the life of your soul.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You say that you are rich and that your living-situation/livelihood is good. You say that you have no need. But the truth is, you are like blind, you don’t know as to how you really are. You are to be pitied because you are poor, that means your trust is lacking/little. You are also like people who have no clothes.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You say, ‘We (incl.) are rich, and our situation is good. We do not lack anything.’ But in spite of that, you do not know that you are very pitiful because you are poor in faith; your mind is blinded, and you are naked because you have no righteous acts.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “You think/say you are rich having all that you need, but you don’t know that the truth of it is, you are to-be-pitied. Because it is true that you are poor, you have no clothes, and you are blind.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “You say, you are rich, and everything is plentiful. There’s no lack at all. However you don’t know that the truth is, you are pathetic, you are beggars with no means. You are blind and naked people.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You think that you are rich, not lacking a thing. All is going well, you say. How come you don’t realize that misery is what you have encountered? For very little do you have. You are poor. You are blind. You do not have clothing to wear.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 3:17

There is no praise for the Christians of Laodicea. Christ confronts their false claims with the truth about their spiritual condition. They boast: I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. They are the opposite of the believers at Smyrna, who thought they were poor but who, Christ said, were really rich. Rich may also be rendered as “have many possessions” (see also 2.9 for other ways to express this word). Prospered in this context is simply a synonym for rich. For I need nothing one may say “I don’t need any more possessions.”

This verse has typical repetition and redundancy for emphasis. Unless the redundancy carries the wrong message, as sometimes it does, the translator should avoid the temptation to reduce it. Often redundancy is common and effective in religious services. The verbal phrases are quite general in scope, and appropriate equivalents should not be hard to find.

Not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked: again there is an accumulation, this time of adjectives, to indicate the spiritual poverty of the Laodicean Christians. The adjective translated wretched (Good News Translation “miserable”) appears elsewhere in the New Testament only at Romans 7.24. It also means “unhappy,” “unfortunate,” or “pathetic.” The word translated pitiable means “deserving pity” (it appears also in 1 Cor 15.19). In certain languages this word will be translated as “have much shame” or “have no face.” The noun poor appears once more in Revelation (13.16); see also2.9 on the translation of “poverty.” Blind appears only here in Revelation, and naked appears also in 16.15; 17.16. The Greek word translated naked sometimes means only “poorly clothed,” but here the idea of being completely unclothed is required.

The translator will notice that Good News Translation reverses the last two adjectives: “naked, and blind.” It is impossible now to explain why this was done, except that “naked and blind” seems to finish the sentence better than “blind and naked.” In any case, a translator should follow the order of the Greek text as in Revised Standard Version, unless it is more natural in the receptor language to reverse the order of these adjectives.

Instead of making this a dependent clause, as Revised Standard Version does, it is better to put a full stop at nothing and begin a new sentence, as Good News Translation and others do. In some languages this second sentence can be in the form of a rhetorical question: “Don’t you know that…?” “Can’t you see that…?”

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 3:17

3:17a

The Greek begins with a conjunction that means “because.” It indicates that 3:17a states another reason for Jesus being ready to spit the believers in Laodicea out of his mouth (3:16b). For example:

For (Revised Standard Version)

The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions allow the context to imply the connection and do not translate the Greek conjunction here. Introduce the reason clause in 3:17a in the way that is natural in your language.

You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy…’: As in all the letters to the churches (2:1–3:22), Jesus spoke here to the angel of the church. The angel represented the believers of the church.

In some languages it is more natural to address the believers directly. If that is true in your language, use plural pronouns here. For example:

You(plur) say, ‘We(incl.) are rich; we have acquired wealth…’

You say: Here the believers were probably saying these things to themselves. For example:

You say to yourself (New Jerusalem Bible)

I am rich; I have grown wealthy: In the Greek, the first clause uses the noun “rich” and the second clause uses the verb “become rich.” Together, the two clauses emphasize that the Laodiceans were very rich. Other ways to translate these clauses are:

I am rich and have acquired great wealth (NET Bible)
-or-
I am rich, I have made a fortune (New Jerusalem Bible)

need nothing: The believers in Laodicea felt like they lacked nothing that they needed for daily living. They had everything. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

do not need a thing (New International Version)
-or-
have all I need (Good News Translation)

3:17b–18e

These sentences use physical conditions symbolically to describe spiritual conditions. The English versions translate the sentences literally rather than explaining what the symbols mean. See the translation advice in the notes and the General Comment at 3:18e.

3:17b

you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked: These words figuratively describe the spiritual condition of the believers in Laodicea. They were like wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked people because they were not trusting and obeying God.

In some languages it is necessary to indicate that Jesus was speaking symbolically. For example:

⌊spiritually⌋ you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked
-or-
your ⌊faith is lacking like someone who is⌋ wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked
-or-
you ⌊believe so little that you are like someone⌋ wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked

wretched: This word refers to being in an awful and undesirable condition. The Good News Translation translates it as:

miserable

pitiful: This word refers to someone whom others feel sorry for because of all of his difficulties and troubles. Here the word indicates that others should feel sorry for the believers in Laodicea because of these problems in their faith. Other ways to translate this word are:

pitiable (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
pathetic

poor: This word refers to someone who lacks money and other material things. Spiritually, it describes someone who does not possess God’s spiritual blessings and riches. The believers in Laodicea had a lot of money and possessions, but they were “poor” in their faith.

blind: Someone who is physically blind is unable to see physical things. Someone who is spiritually blind is unable to understand spiritual things.

naked: This word refers to someone who is not wearing any clothes at all. Spiritually, it describes someone who does not use the qualities that God gives to believers to do his work.

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