angel

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The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:

  • Pintupi-Luritja: ngaṉka ngurrara: “one who belongs in the sky” (source: Ken Hansen quoted in Steven 1984a, p. 116.)
  • Tetela, Kpelle, Balinese, and Mandarin Chinese: “heavenly messenger”
  • Shilluk / Igede: “spirit messenger”
  • Mashco Piro: “messenger of God”
  • Batak Toba: “envoy, messenger”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “holy servant” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961; Igede: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Central Mazahua: “God’s worker” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Saramaccan: basia u Masa Gaangadu köndë or “messenger from God’s country” (source: Jabini 2015, p. 86)
  • Mairasi: atatnyev nyaa or “sent-one” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “word bringer” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
  • Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
  • Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article ): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)

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) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Revelation 7:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 7:1:

  • Uma: “After that, I saw four angels stand in the four corners of the world. Those angels received power/authority from God to strike the world with plagues/tortures, whether in the sea or on the land/shore. They restrained the wind from the four corners of the world, so that there was no wind blowing on the sea and on the shore/land and in the forest. And I saw another angel appear in the east. He held a sealer/stamp [posaa’, from Indonesian: cap] from the God who Lives forever. That angel called loudly saying to those four angels earlier, he said:” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “After that I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the world/universe holding back the wind so that it would not blow on to the earth and on the sea or even on a single tree.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “After this I saw four angels of God. Each one of them was standing on the four sides of the earth, and they block off the four winds on the earth so that the earth and the sea and the trees could not be blown upon.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When that was finished, I saw four angels standing on/at the four corners of the world restraining the four sources of the wind so that the earth and ocean and also the trees would absolutely not be blown-on.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well when those things were over, I saw four angels who were standing at the four edges/corners of this world. They were prohibiting the four eyes of the wind so that they wouldn’t just yet blow here under the heavens, wouldn’t blow on the ocean or the forest.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Having passed what I saw, again I saw four angels standing at four corners of the world. They were each one stopping the wind. They did not allow any wind to be on the land, nor upon the sea. They didn’t let there be a wind to move a tree.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 7:1

After this I saw: as in 4.1. This is a separate vision, and everything takes place on earth. Since this is the beginning of a new chapter, it will be equally natural in most languages to say “The next thing that I saw….”

Four angels standing at the four corners of the earth: the earth is regarded as a vast, square surface, with four distinct corners, from each of which one wind blows.

Holding back the four winds of the earth: the four winds blow from heaven (Jer 49.36; Dan 7.2; Zech 6.5); here they are called the four winds of the earth, blowing from north, south, east, and west. The angels keep them from blowing on earth or sea, which includes all the earth’s surface—the earth, of course, meaning “the dry land,” and the sea referring to large bodies of water everywhere. The addition of or against any tree seems to be a detail meant to make the figure more vivid, since trees are particularly affected by strong winds.

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 7:1

Section 7:1–8

Angels put God’s seal on 144,000 people

In this section, John saw angels put God’s seal on 144,000 people from Israel. This seal indicates that these people belong to God.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
The 144,000 Are Marked for God (Contemporary English Version)

Paragraph 7:1–8

7:1a

After this: The word this refers to the event in 6:16–17. In some languages it is more natural to use the word “that.”

angels: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angels refers here to spirit beings who serve God. See how you translated this word in 1:1 or 5:2.

the four corners of the earth: This idiom refers to four places that are as far away from each other as possible. 7:1b implies that these four places are the sources for the winds. In many languages, winds come from the north, south, east, and west. Here, the idiom implies that the angels control the wind over the whole world. Some languages do not have an idiom that refers to four places that are as far away from each other as possible. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Use the four words north, south, east, and west. For example:

in/at the north, the east, the south, and the west of the earth

• Translate the meaning without the idiom. For example:

in/at the four places on the earth far distant from each other

7:1b–c

holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow: The phrase its four winds refers to winds from the north, south, east, and west. Together they represent wind from any direction. Other ways to translate this clause are:

stopping the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow
-or-
preventing all wind from blowing on the earth

blow: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blow probably refers to strong winds that damage things. The angels prevented the winds from causing this damage. But the Greek word may also refer to any kind of wind, strong or gentle.

sea: The word sea refers to large bodies of water. A sea is often so large that someone standing on one side cannot see the other side. Here it refers to oceans in general. Some languages do not have a word or phrase for “sea.” If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:

the saltwater ⌊place⌋
-or-
large body of water
-or-
large round water

• Use the major language word.

See how you translated this word in 5:13. The word sea is symbolic, so you should not name a particular sea.

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