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OET (OET-LV) and cinnamon, and amomum, and incenses, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and olive_oil, and fine_flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of_horses, and of_carriages, and of_slaves, and souls of_humans.
OET (OET-RV) cinnamon and spice, incense and myrrh and frankincense, wine and oil and fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep and horses, and chariots and slaves and people’s souls.
In this section, three heavenly beings each announce something about Babylon. The first announcement is that the city is destroyed. Her riches and prosperity have been taken away.
The second announcement is that God’s people should leave Babylon before God destroys her. It also describes how kings and others mourn over the destroyed city.
The third announcement is that Babylon will never be built again.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
An angel announced that Babylon was destroyed, and some groups are sad
Announcements about the destruction of Babylon
Various people talk about Babylon
of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense;
cargoes of cinnamon, India spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense,
No one buys their cinnamon spice, black cardamom spice, sweet smelling incense, sweet smelling myrrh, and sweet smelling frankincense.
cinnamon: This word refers to a spice made from the inner bark of cinnamon trees. In some languages people are not familiar with cinnamon. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
spice called cinnamon
cinnamon spice
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. For example:
Cinnamon is a spice made from the inner bark of cinnamon trees.
spice: The Greek word that the BSB translates as spice refers to the extract from a plant of India called amomum. This is probably the spice that is today called black cardamom.
In some languages people are not familiar with amomum or cardamom. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain that it is a spice. For example:
cardamom spice
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
This word refers to a spice which comes from a plant called amomum.
incense: The word incense refers to the dried sap of certain kinds of trees. The dried sap burns slowly to make a sweet-smelling smoke. Incense is often used as a part of worship.
In some languages people are not familiar with incense. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
special tree resin/sap called incense burned to give/release a sweet smell
sweet smelling tree resin/sap called incense
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. For example:
Incense is the dried sap of certain trees. The dried sap burns slowly to make a sweet-smelling smoke. People often burned incense as part of their worship.
See how you translated this word in 5:8.
myrrh: The word myrrh refers to a product from the sap of the myrrh bush. People use it to make a highly valued ointment and perfume.
In some languages people are not familiar with myrrh. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
myrrh bush sap made into perfume
sweet smelling bush sap called myrrh
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Myrrh comes from the sap of the myrrh bush. People use it to make a highly valued ointment and perfume.
frankincense: The word frankincense refers to a product from the sap of several kinds of trees. People dry the sap, grind it into a powder, then burn it to make a good-smelling smoke. It can also be an ingredient in perfume.
In some languages people are not familiar with frankincense. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
tree resin/sap burned for a sweet smell called frankincense
sweet/good smelling tree resin/sap called frankincense
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Frankincense comes from the sap of several kinds of trees. People dry the sap and burn it during worship in order to make a sweet smelling smoke. Or they add it to perfume.
of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat;
wine, olive oil, high quality flour, wheat,
No one buys their alcoholic beverages, cooking oil, quality flour, and quality wheat.
wine: Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the juice of grapes. In some languages people are not familiar with wine. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain it in your translation. For example:
alcoholic beverage of wine
an alcoholic beverage made from grapes, called wine
Use the name of the common alcoholic beverage in your area. You may then want a footnote to explain the literal word. For example:
Literally: “wine.”
See how you translated this word in 14:8 or 17:2.
olive oil: The olive is a small oval fruit. People squeeze the oil out of it. The oil is used as cooking oil and as fuel for lamps.
fine flour: The Greek word here refers to the best quality of flour. For example:
high quality flour
the best flour
wheat: The word wheat refers to a grain plant commonly grown in that part of the world. It was more expensive than barley. Poor people bought barley. So this word implies that the people of Babylon were wealthy.
of cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots;
cattle, sheep, horses, carriages/wagons,
No one buys their animals of burden, wool animals, riding animals, four-wheeled vehicles,
cattle: This word refers to large animals that were used for work. They carried loads, pulled plows, and did other hard work for people.
In some languages people are not familiar with cattle. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
strong/pulling animals
large farm/pack animals
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Cattle are large farm animals that can pull heavy loads. People eat their meat and drink their milk.
sheep: The word sheep refers to smaller farm animals. They usually stay in groups. They weigh 40 to 60 kilograms. They eat plants. Here people probably bought sheep for their wool and meat.
In some languages people are not familiar with sheep. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
woolly animals called sheep
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
This word refers to a medium-sized farm animal. People use their hair to make cloth and eat their meat.
horses: A horse is a large, four-legged animal that weighs 500 kilograms (1100 pounds) or more. They are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) high at their back. People ride horses.
In some languages people are not familiar with horses. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the word in your translation. For example:
riding animals called horses
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
A horse is a large animal that a person can ride. The person could direct the horse to go where he wanted.
See how you translated this word in 6:2 or 14:20.
chariots: This word refers to four-wheeled vehicles pulled by horses, like a “carriage.” The wheels were made of wood. The Greek word could refer to:
Vehicles made to carry people comfortably. These chariots or “carriages” (NIV11) had seats and were usually covered to protect the people from rain.
Vehicles made to carry heavy loads.
Use a word or phrase that refers to either one or both meanings.
of slaves and souls of men.
slaves, and even human lives. (GNT)
slaves, and the lives of people.
slaves and souls of men: The BSB translates the Greek words literally. There are two interpretation issues. These words can refer to people in general or to slaves. Also, they can refer to one group or two groups. The main interpretations are:
The words refers to two groups of people. The word slaves refers to slaves. The phrase souls of men refers to another group of people. The second group might be prisoners of war. For example:
slaves, and even human lives (GNT) (GNT, NJB, NRSV, NASB, CEV, NET, REB, NCV, KJV)
The words refers to slaves as one group of people. It uses two similar phrases to emphasize the meaning. For example:
slaves, that is, human souls (RSV) (RSV, NLT, NABRE, GW, ESV)
The BSB is ambiguous. It is recommended that you also translate ambiguously, if possible. But if that is not possible, then follow option (1).The Translator’s Handbook (on TW) and the IVP Bible Background Commentary (on TW) say that the two phrases refer to slaves and captives from war. Romans used captives from war in fights to the death in the gladiatorial games. But Beale (page 910) and Aune (page 1002) support interpretation (2).
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κιννάμωμον, καὶ ἄμωμον
cinnamon (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί κιννάμωμον καί ἄμωμον καί θυμιάματα καί μύρον καί λίβανον καί οἶνον καί ἔλαιον καί σεμίδαλιν καί σῖτον καί κτήνη καί πρόβατα καί ἵππων καί ῥεδῶν καί σωμάτων καί ψυχάς ἀνθρώπων)
Since cinnamon is one kind of spice, John means implicitly that cinnamon was one example of the spices that the merchants sold. You can indicate this your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [cinnamon and other spices]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
κιννάμωμον, καὶ ἄμωμον
cinnamon (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί κιννάμωμον καί ἄμωμον καί θυμιάματα καί μύρον καί λίβανον καί οἶνον καί ἔλαιον καί σεμίδαλιν καί σῖτον καί κτήνη καί πρόβατα καί ἵππων καί ῥεδῶν καί σωμάτων καί ψυχάς ἀνθρώπων)
The word cinnamon describes a fragrant spice that people make from the bark of a certain tree. If your readers would not be familiar with what cinnamon is, you could use a general term. Alternate translation: [spice from tree bark and other spices]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
θυμιάματα, καὶ μύρον, καὶ λίβανον
incenses (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί κιννάμωμον καί ἄμωμον καί θυμιάματα καί μύρον καί λίβανον καί οἶνον καί ἔλαιον καί σεμίδαλιν καί σῖτον καί κτήνη καί πρόβατα καί ἵππων καί ῥεδῶν καί σωμάτων καί ψυχάς ἀνθρώπων)
Since myrrh and frankincense are two kinds of incense, John means implicitly that these are two examples of the incense that the merchants sold. You can indicate this your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [myrrh and frankincense and other kinds of incense]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
σωμάτων, καὶ ψυχὰς ἀνθρώπων
˱of˲_slaves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί κιννάμωμον καί ἄμωμον καί θυμιάματα καί μύρον καί λίβανον καί οἶνον καί ἔλαιον καί σεμίδαλιν καί σῖτον καί κτήνη καί πρόβατα καί ἵππων καί ῥεδῶν καί σωμάτων καί ψυχάς ἀνθρώπων)
In this context, the expressions bodies and souls of men mean the same thing. John is using the two terms together for emphasis. He is first stating how things look on the outside: The bodies of the slaves whom the merchants are trading appear to be just another physical cargo. But John is then stating the real truth: This traffic in slaves is a traffic in human souls. You could indicate this in your translation. Alternate translation: [slaves, that is, the souls of men]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ψυχὰς ἀνθρώπων
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί κιννάμωμον καί ἄμωμον καί θυμιάματα καί μύρον καί λίβανον καί οἶνον καί ἔλαιον καί σεμίδαλιν καί σῖτον καί κτήνη καί πρόβατα καί ἵππων καί ῥεδῶν καί σωμάτων καί ψυχάς ἀνθρώπων)
Although the term men is masculine, John is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a term in your language that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: [human souls]
OET (OET-LV) and cinnamon, and amomum, and incenses, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and olive_oil, and fine_flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of_horses, and of_carriages, and of_slaves, and souls of_humans.
OET (OET-RV) cinnamon and spice, incense and myrrh and frankincense, wine and oil and fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep and horses, and chariots and slaves and people’s souls.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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