συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρὸς ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, καὶ ἱμάτια λευκὰ ἵνα περιβάλῃ καὶ μὴ φανερωθῇ ἡ αἰσχύνη τῆς γυμνότητός σου, καὶ κολλ[ο]ύριον ἐγχρῖσαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου ἵνα βλέπῃς.
18Therefore I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white robes to clothe yourself and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
See also cloth and cloak / shawl.
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 3:18:
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.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire: the introductory Therefore introduces Christ’s reaction to the beginning of verse 17, “Because you say….” One may also say “For this reason….” The verb translated counsel means to advise, recommend, instruct. It does not carry the idea of force, so that “I command” or its equivalent would be wrong (see the related noun “counselor” in Rom 11.34).
The figurative language that follows the advice that Christ gives to the people of Laodicea is intended to show them how they can gain spiritual wealth, holiness, and insight. The three things they are advised to buy will meet their pitiable condition of poverty, blindness, and nakedness. The phrase gold refined by fire means “the finest gold,” “the purest gold” (for comments on refined see 1.15).
That you may be rich: this is a figure for spiritual wealth, but the translator is to express the literal meaning of material riches, unless strict adherence to the literal symbol will cause people in certain cultures to think that Christians will become materially rich. In such cases it will be helpful to translate that you may be rich as “in order that you may become spiritually rich” or “that you may become rich in God’s sight.”
And white garments to clothe you: the color white here probably symbolizes purity, as indicated by the following phrase, to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen. To be seen naked was considered a shameful thing; the shame of your nakedness means “your shameful nakedness.” Of course the abstract quality nakedness can feel neither shame nor pride, so that the phrase may need to be expanded somewhat: “so that you will avoid the shame (or, disgrace) of being seen naked” or “so that you will not lose face (or, have shame) by having people see you naked.”
And salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see: the salve was some sort of remedy for the eyes, in the form of a paste or powder. Commentators refer to the Phrygian eye powder, used by physicians in the temple of Asclepius. The generic “eye medicine” may be used, if the equivalent of the specific salve, or “ointment,” or “paste” is not available. The compound verb translated to anoint is formed of the preposition en with the simple verb chriō, “to anoint,” the verb that is the origin of the title christos, “the anointed one” (see Luke 4.18; Acts 4.27). (Another compound verb, epichriō, is used in John 9.6, 11.) See in this context will be rendered in many languages by the equivalent of “look and see” or “see and recognize.”
This verse is one rather long sentence, with the verb to buy followed by three direct objects, each of which includes a purpose clause. It may be better to follow the example of Good News Translation and have a complete sentence for each of the three objects that are to be bought, with the repetition of the verb to buy.
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• For this reason, I advise you to buy from me gold that has been refined (or, melted down to get rid of impurities) in order that you may become rich. You must also buy white clothes to put on yourself so that you may avoid the shame of people seeing you naked. You must also buy some salve (or, eye medicine) to put on (or, in) your eyes, so that you may be able to see.
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 .
3:18a–e
Jesus advised the believers in Laodicea to buy three things: gold, white clothes, and salve. These three things are symbolic of spiritual things such as faith, righteousness, and spiritual guidance/sight.
3:18a
counsel: This word means “give advice.” Jesus told the believers what they should do to improve their weak spiritual condition. The Good News Translation translates the Greek word as:
advise
buy from Me gold refined by fire: This command symbolically refers to obtaining true, spiritual riches from God. The believers in Laodicea needed to ask Jesus for the only kind of wealth that is truly valuable. See the General Comment at the end of 3:18e.
gold: The word gold refers to a rare metal of a somewhat yellow color. It was the most expensive metal at that time. Gold is naturally shiny and beautiful.
In some languages people are not familiar with gold. If that is true in your language, you may want to describe it. For example:
⌊expensive⌋ gold
-or-
⌊valuable⌋ metal/stones ⌊called⌋ gold
See how you translated a similar word (“golden”) in 1:12.
refined by fire: When someone makes gold so hot that it melts, the impurities in the gold float to the top. Then the impurities can be removed. In that way gold is made pure, or it is refined. The verb refined is an implied passive clause. Some ways to translate it are:
• Use a passive clause. For example:
It has been refined in a fire, (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
gold made pure in fire (New Century Version)
• Use an active clause. For example:
that the fire has purified
3:18b
that you may become rich: This clause refers figuratively to having spiritual riches such as great faith. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to earthly riches. If that is true in your language, explain the kind of riches in your translation. For example:
you can be truly rich (New Century Version)
-or-
then you will have ⌊spiritual⌋ wealth
Another way to help readers understand this figurative speech is to translate literally but explain that meaning in a footnote. See the example footnote in the General Comment at 3:18e.
3:18c
white garments: The main clause “I counsel you to buy from me” is implied. The Greek language does not need to repeat it here. However, in some languages it is more natural to repeat some or all of the main clause. For example:
and ⌊buy from me⌋ white clothes to wear
-or-
and ⌊I counsel you to buy from me⌋ white clothes to wear
The phrase white garments probably refers figuratively to righteousness or goodness. Moral goodness (or righteousness) is sometimes symbolized by white clothes in the Bible.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to their literal clothing. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied meaning in your translation. For example:
white clothes ⌊that represent righteousness/purity⌋
Another way to help readers understand this figurative speech is to translate literally but explain that meaning in a footnote. See the example footnote in the General Comment at 3:18e.
3:18d
that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed: The Greek clause is literally “so that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed.” This is a negative purpose statement with a passive clause with “be revealed.” Some ways to translate it are:
• Use a passive clause. For example:
so…your shameful nakedness will not be exposed (NET Bible)
-or-
and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen (English Standard Version)
-or-
so you will not be shamed by your nakedness (New Living Translation (2004))
• Use an active clause. For example:
hide your shameful nakedness (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
so that you may keep your shameful, naked body from showing (God’s Word)
your shameful nakedness: The Greek phrase is literally “the shame of your nakedness” (as in the Revised Standard Version). Nakedness is a symbol for their lack of righteousness. White clothing is a symbol for righteousness. They needed to remedy their lack of righteousness (their “nakedness”). Other ways to translate this phrase are:
be shamed by your nakedness (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the shame of being naked
3:18e
and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see: The third thing Jesus told the believers in Laodicea to accept from him was eye salve. He wanted to give them true sight, that is, spiritual understanding.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to literal salve. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied meaning in your translation. For example:
and salve ⌊that represents the healing power of God to see spiritual needs⌋ to put on your eyes, so you can see
salve: This word refers to an ointment put on the eyes to help heal eye diseases. Here the salve would heal the spiritual blindness mentioned in 3:17b. Other ways to translate this word are:
ointment (Good News Translation)
-or-
medicine
to anoint your eyes: Translate this phrase by using the natural way to talk about applying medicine to eyes. For example:
to put in your eyes
-or-
for your eyes (Contemporary English Version)
General Comment on 3:17b–18e
Symbols in this long metaphor refer to spiritual conditions, so you may want to translate them literally and then explain the metaphors in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The physical conditions referred to in 3:17b–18 are symbols for a person’s spiritual condition. The faith of the believers at Laodicea was wretched and pitiful. They were spiritually poor, blind, and naked. The gold, eye salve, and clothes are symbolic remedies for being spiritually poor, blind, and naked. The physical remedies represent spiritual blessings like pure faith, knowledge of God, and righteousness.
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