elder (of the church)

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The Greek that is translated as “elder” in most English versions (“presbyter” in The Orthodox New Testament, 2000) is translated as “Old-Man Leader” in Eastern Highland Otomi (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22) and in Bacama as mi kpan-kpani vɨnə hiutə: “big/old person of house of prayer” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).

Other translations include:

  • “person who commands among the people of Jesus” in Lalana Chinantec
  • “old man who watches over the believers” in Morelos Nahuatl
  • “the one guarding the brethren” in Isthmus Mixe (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • “old man who believes” in Sayula Popoluca
  • “person who cares for the assembly of Christ” in Rincón Zapotec
  • “person in authority among the brothers” in Central Mazahua
  • “supervisor of the creed” in Guhu-Samane (source for this and three above: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • “older person” with an implication of that being a leader-like person in Matumbi (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • “person who has taken on responsibilities in the congregation” in German (das Buch translation by Roland Werner, publ. 2009-2022)

The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) chooses for the occurrences in Revelation the translation of Würdenträger or “dignitary.” Elsewhere (for instance in 1 Peter 5:1) it has “elders, your congregational leadership.”

See also elder (of the community).

complete verse (Revelation 7:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 7:13:

  • Uma: “From there, one of those elders questioned me, he said: ‘Those people over there dressed in white, do you know who they are and where they are from?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then one of the elders asked me, he said, ‘Do you know who those people in the white robes are and where they come from?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then one of the elders spoke to me, he said, ‘Who are these dressed in white and where do they come from?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “One of the leaders questioned me, ‘Do you (sing.) know who these are who are dressed in white and where they are from?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Then I was questioned by one of those elders. He said, ‘Who are those people who are dressed in white? Where have they come from?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “One of the twenty-four said to me: ‘Who are those wearing white clothing? Where have they come from?’ he said to me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 7:13

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying: on the translation of elders see 4.4. The verbal phrase addressed me, saying represents the Greek form, which consists of the aorist of the verb “to say” (or “to answer”) and the participle “saying.” The Greek verb for addressed, which usually means “to answer,” is often used in passages where there is no previous question. It then introduces a statement that is a response to, or a result of, something that has just happened. In English “spoke up” is an effective translation, as in New American Bible, Revised “spoke up and said to me”; Revised English Bible translates “turned to me and asked”; New Jerusalem Bible “spoke and asked me.” Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, and New International Version are like Good News Translation, “asked me.”

The question, “Who are these … and where do they come from?” is a question used for revealing John’s ignorance, leading him to ask the elder to give him the information. That is why Good News Translation has “I don’t know” in verse 14. In many languages it will be good to expand this sentence and say “Who are these people?” as in Good News Translation.

Clothed in white robes may be expressed as “wearing white robes.” For robes see 1.13.

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 7:13

Paragraph 7:13–17

7:13a

one of the elders addressed me: The Greek words are literally “one of the elders answered and said to me.” The word “answered” probably indicates that the elder responded to the praise of the angels (7:12). He responded by speaking to John. Other ways to translate these words are:

one of the elders responded and asked me
-or-
one of the elders asked me (New International Version)
-or-
One of the elders turned to me and asked (Revised English Bible)

7:13b–c

“These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”: This is a leading question. It causes someone to think about what the answer might be. The elder knew the answer to this question and he also knew that John did not know the answer. He asked John this question to cause John to think about the people in white robes. Since John replied, you should translate these words as a question.

These in white robes…who are they…?: The words These in white robes are emphasized in the Greek and the Berean Standard Bible by being first in the clause. Some languages will not be able to emphasize those words in that way. For example:

who are these in white robes…?

If possible emphasize the words These in white robes in another way. For example:

⌊Look at⌋ these ⌊people⌋ ⌊dressed⌋ in white robes. Who are they…?
-or-

⌊What about⌋ those ⌊people⌋ ⌊dressed⌋ in white robes? Who are they…?

who are they, and where have they come from?: These clauses are two questions. In some languages it is more natural to separate the questions. For example:

Who are they? Where have they come from?

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