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OET (OET-LV) and holding in the right hand of_him seven stars, and out_of the mouth of_him a_sword double_edged sharp going_out, and the face of_him like the sun is_shining in the power of_it.
OET (OET-RV) He was holding seven stars in his right hand and a sharp sword was extending from his mouth, and his face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
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
He held in His right hand seven stars,
He held seven stars in his right hand, (GNT)
He had in his right hand seven stars. (KJV)
He held in His right hand seven stars: Here the phrase He held in His right hand implies that Jesus had authority or care over something.
He held: The Greek word that the BSB translates as held also means “had.” Here the word indicates that Jesus in some way possessed or controlled the seven spirits and the seven stars. Translate using a word with that meaning. For example, the KJV says:
He had
stars: This word is symbolic of the churches (1:20). But you should use the normal word for stars here.
In some languages a literal translation would not communicate the meaning of these images. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain in a footnote. For example:
This implies that Jesus had authority or care over the stars. The stars are symbolic of the churches.
and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth.
a sharp two-edged war machete came out of his mouth,
A long, sharp, double-edged fighting knife extended/protruded from his mouth.
a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth: Here the word came indicates that the handle of the sword was in his mouth and the blade of the sword extended forward from his mouth. The word here does not indicate that the sword was leaving his mouth. The NET translates this as:
a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth
double-edged: This word indicates that both edges of the blade of the sword were sharpened.
sword: A sword is a hand-held weapon that is used to cut or stab. The swords of that time were 60–120 centimeters (2–4 feet) long and made of metal. The picture shows some of the various kinds of swords used at that time.
In some languages people are not familiar with swords. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Translate the meaning in your translation. For example:
long knife
cutting/sharp weapon
war machete/bush-knife
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 sword is a hand-held weapon that is used to cut or stab. The swords of that time were 60–120 centimeters long and made of metal.
His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (RSV)
His face was shining brightly, like the sun shining with all its force/power.
His face was like the sun shining at its brightest: This clause indicates that his face was shining very brightly, just as the sun shines. Another way to translate is:
His face was shining brightly like the sun shines in all its brilliance
at its brightest: The Greek phrase is literally “in its power.” This phrase refers to the sun shining very brightly, and it implies that no clouds block the sun’s light. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
in full strength (RSV)
at its brightest time (NCV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
καὶ ἔχων
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἔχων ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρί αὐτοῦ ἀστέρας ἑπτά καί ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ῥομφαία δίστομος ὀξεῖα ἐκπορευομένη καί ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος φαίνει ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ)
If it would be helpful to your readers, you could start a new sentence here and indicate the subject of having explicitly. Alternate translation: [This one who was like a son of man had]
Note 2 topic: writing-symlanguage
ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ & ἐκπορευομένη
out_of the mouth ˱of˲_him & going_out
Be sure it is clear in your translation that this means that the blade of the sword was protruding from his mouth. The sword itself was not in motion. Alternate translation: [protruding from his mouth]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος φαίνει
the face ˱of˲_him like the sun ˓is˒_shining
John is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [his face was shining as the sun shines]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος φαίνει
the face ˱of˲_him like the sun ˓is˒_shining
The point of this comparison is that the face of this person was shining as brightly as the sun shines. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: [his face was shining as brightly as the sun shines]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ
in the in the power ˱of˲_it
This expression refers to the greatest brightness of the sun, which occurs at noon, when the sun is highest in the sky. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [at its greatest brightness] or [when it is highest in the sky]
OET (OET-LV) and holding in the right hand of_him seven stars, and out_of the mouth of_him a_sword double_edged sharp going_out, and the face of_him like the sun is_shining in the power of_it.
OET (OET-RV) He was holding seven stars in his right hand and a sharp sword was extending from his mouth, and his face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
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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