Translation commentary on Revelation 4:10

The twenty-four elders fall down: as in 1.17, to fall down means to kneel down or to lie prostrate on the ground.

Before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever: this repeats from the previous verse the two phrases that describe God. This repetition is very much a part of the style of the author, and a translation should not try to abbreviate the text by omitting what seems to be unnecessary repetition.

Worship: to worship is to acknowledge the unique status and worth of the one being worshiped, and the relationship of that one to the worshiper. Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon (volume 1, page 540), define as follows: “to express by attitude and possibly by position one’s allegiance to and regard for deity.” The Greek verb used here may mean “to kneel before” (see its use in this sense in 3.9, “bow down”). However, the elders are already lying prostrate before the throne, so “kneel before” is an unlikely meaning here. A possible alternative rendering for worship is “and acknowledge his greatness.”

They cast their crowns before the throne, singing: this action acknowledges that God is the supreme King, who rules over them. Crowns represent their power, authority to rule as kings, and so here they surrender their power to God. The verb has the forceful meaning of “throw,” and it seems better to represent this meaning than to say something like “lay” (Revised English Bible) or “lay down” (Translator’s New Testament). The Greek verb translated singing by Revised Standard Version is “saying” (Good News Translation). In many languages this clause will be rendered as “they throw their chiefs’ hats down in front of the high chief’s chair.”

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 4:10

4:10a

fall down: Here the phrase fall down refers to kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone. This position showed complete humility before that person and honored him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

prostrated themselves (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
throw themselves to the ground (NET Bible)

Some languages have a different action that shows complete humility and honor to someone. If that is true in your language, you may want to use that action here. See how you translated this phrase in 3:9, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “bow down.”

4:10b

and they worship Him who lives forever and ever: The elders worshiped the one before whom they had fallen down. See the General Comment on 4:10a–b below.

worship: This word refers to honoring someone or something as sacred/divine. Other ways to translate this word are:

venerate
-or-
revere

If possible, refer to your translation of this word in Matthew 2:2, Luke 4:8, or 1 Corinthians 14:25.

General Comment on 4:10a–b

The phrase “fall down before the One seated on the throne” (4:10a) refers to worshiping God. The phrase “worship Him who lives for ever and ever” (4:10b) also refers to worshiping God. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly imply or indicate that these two phrases refer to worshiping two different people. If that is true in your language, you may want to combine the two phrases into one phrase. For example:

the twenty-four elders fall down before the forever-living one who sits on the throne, and they worship him

4:10c

They cast their crowns before the throne, saying: The elders do this during their worship (4:10b). In some languages it is more natural to connect 4:10c to their worship. For example:

and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-

10b worship him who lives forever and ever, 10c laying their crowns before the throne and saying

crowns: The crowns of the elders are a symbol of leadership, just like the crowns of kings. Translate this word as you did in 4:4.

saying: They probably all spoke in unison. So, as in 4:8c, you may want to translate this word as:

say ⌊together⌋
-or-
chant

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