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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Rev C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22
Rev 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20
OET (OET-LV) and in the_midst of_the lampstands:
similar son of_Man, having_dressed_in reaching_the_feet, and having_been_girded_about at the breasts a_belt golden.
OET (OET-RV) and standing among them was a man who looked like humanity’s child,[fn] wearing a long robe with a golden sash around His chest.
1:13 It’s not certain what was meant here: either ‘a man who looked like humanity’s child’ or ‘a form that looked like a human man’.
In this section, John told the seven churches that he was exiled on the island of Patmos because he had preached about Jesus. The people in the seven churches had also suffered for the sake of Jesus. So John indicated that they all shared in that suffering. He explained where he was and why he was there. He then began to tell his vision of Jesus and what Jesus revealed to him.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Preliminary vision (NJB)
John told/described his first vision
Introduction to what God revealed to John
and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man,
In the midst of the lampstands was someone like a son of man,
and a being like a man stood among them.
among: This word indicates that the lampstands were positioned on either side of Jesus. Some lampstands may have been in front of Jesus and some may have been behind him. It is implied that Jesus was standing. For example:
standing in the middle/midst of
One like the Son of Man: The phrase the Son of Man is based on the Hebrew idiom that refers to someone who has the characteristics of a man. So here it means “a human being.” John probably implies a connection to Daniel 7:13. There, Daniel saw someone who looked like a person (rather than an angel or other kind of being) coming on the clouds. Daniel said he was “like a son of man.” This phrase probably implies three things:
This person was the Christ. This whole phrase is similar to the phrase in Daniel 7:13. Many Jews in Jesus’ time understood that Daniel 7:13–14 described the Christ. John probably wanted to remind his readers of those verses in Daniel.Beale, page 210, Osbourne, page 87.
This person was Jesus. The phrase the Son of Man is similar to the phrase “the Son of Man” that Jesus often used for himself.Swete, page 15, Lenski, page 64.
This person looked like a human being. In Hebrew the phrase Son of means “someone having the characteristics of.” John saw a being who looked like a person, but with the differences described in 1:14–16.Translator’s Handbooks (on TW) mentions this option and the other two as well.
Some ways to translate this phrase are:
Translate literally. You may want to translate literally if you translated “the Son of Man” literally in the Gospels. You may then want to explain the meaning of the phrase in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The saying “someone like a son of man” would remind believers of those words in Daniel 7:13–14. This saying would also remind them of Jesus’ title for himself: “the Son of Man.” Keep the word Man general rather than referring to an unknown man; that is, do not say or imply “a son of a man” or “a son of the man.”
Note: Some languages do not have the word “the” or “a,” but the meaning is understood from context. But without a “the” or “a,” there is no clear way to translate the difference between “the Son of Man” and “a son of man.” If that is true in your language, you should translate as indicated below.
Translate according to meaning (c) above. Some examples are:
there was what looked like a human being (GNT)
a figure like a man (REB) You may want to include a footnote to explain the literal words. An example footnote is:
Literally: “someone like a son of man.” This saying would remind believers of those words in Daniel 7:13–14. This saying would also remind them of Jesus’ title for himself: “the Son of Man.” But here John is only indicating that he saw someone who looked somewhat like a human being, and this person’s appearance in 1:13–16 and his words in 1:17–20 indicate that he is Jesus. If you do not have “the” and “a” in your language, you may want a different footnote. For example:
Literally: “someone like son of man.” This saying is a Hebrew idiom that means “someone who looks like a human being.” It would remind believers of those words in Daniel 7:13–14. Jesus used these words as a title for himself: “the Son of Man.” But here John is only indicating that he saw someone who looked somewhat like a human being, and this person’s appearance in 1:13–16 and his words in 1:17–20 indicate that he is Jesus.
Note: You should not translate this phrase as “someone like the Son of Man.” Translating that way indicates that the person whom John saw was not Jesus but someone like him. But 1:18 shows that this phrase does refer to Jesus.
like the Son of Man: This phrase is a quote from Daniel 7:13. If you usually footnote the location of quotes from the Old Testament, you may want to do so here.
dressed in a long robe,
who wore a robe that went to his feet
He was clothed in a full-length robe
dressed in: This phrase indicates that Jesus was wearing the robe. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
clothed with (RSV)
wearing (GNT)
a long robe: This phrase refers to a long loose garment which covers the body from the shoulders down to the feet. A robe also has loose sleeves covering the arms.
In some languages people are not familiar with robes. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
long flowing clothes
one-piece full-length clothes
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
A robe is a long, loose garment which covers the body from the shoulders down to the feet. A robe also has loose sleeves covering the arms.
with a golden sash around His chest.
and a gold cloth band around his chest.
with a wide sash made of gold across his upper body.
a golden sash around His chest: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sash refers to a wrapping that was usually worn around the waist. But the phrase His chest indicates that the sash went around Jesus’ body at chest height.
The sash was made of gold. It was probably a cloth made of gold thread. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
he wore a wide golden belt around his chest (NET)
a gold band around his chest (GNT)
a gold cloth was wrapped around his chest (CEV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
ὅμοιον Υἱὸν Ἀνθρώπου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐν μέσῳ τῶν λυχνιῶν Ὅμοιον Υἱῷ Ἀνθρώπου ἐνδεδυμένον ποδήρη καί περιεζωσμένον πρός τοῖς μαστοῖς ζώνην χρυσᾶν)
The expression like a son of man is an allusion to [Daniel 7:13](../dan/07/13.md). It means “like a human being.” The point of this comparison is that the figure whom John saw looked like a human. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [a figure who was human in form]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
καὶ περιεζωσμένον πρὸς τοῖς μαστοῖς ζώνην χρυσᾶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐν μέσῳ τῶν λυχνιῶν Ὅμοιον Υἱῷ Ἀνθρώπου ἐνδεδυμένον ποδήρη καί περιεζωσμένον πρός τοῖς μαστοῖς ζώνην χρυσᾶν)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: [He had wrapped a golden sash around his chest]
Note 3 topic: translate-unknown
ζώνην χρυσᾶν
˓a˒_belt golden
A sash was a strip of cloth that someone would wrap around the chest to keep a robe closed. Your language may have a term of its own for such an article that you can use in your translation, or you could use plain language. Alternate translation: [a wide strip of golden cloth]
OET (OET-LV) and in the_midst of_the lampstands:
similar son of_Man, having_dressed_in reaching_the_feet, and having_been_girded_about at the breasts a_belt golden.
OET (OET-RV) and standing among them was a man who looked like humanity’s child,[fn] wearing a long robe with a golden sash around His chest.
1:13 It’s not certain what was meant here: either ‘a man who looked like humanity’s child’ or ‘a form that looked like a human man’.
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.