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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
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Rev 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29
OET (OET-LV) The one having an_ear, him_let_hear what the spirit is_saying to_the assemblies.
The one overcoming by_no_means not may_be_injured by the death the second.
OET (OET-RV) Everyone who wants to understand needs to listen to what God’s spirit is saying to the assemblies.
¶ Anyone who stays true won’t be affected by the second death.”
In this section, Jesus spoke to the people who believed in him at Smyrna. He saw that they were suffering and poor but strong in their faith. He saw that they were persecuted, and he encouraged them to continue following him. Lastly, he gave a promise for any believer who persevered in his faith.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Message to Smyrna (GNT)
Jesus gave a message for the church at Smyrna
Advice to the group of believers at Smyrna
Translate this heading as you did for the message to the church at Ephesus (2:1–7).
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
¶ If/since you(plur) have ears, then hear the things that the Spirit is saying to the churches.
¶ Everyone who has ears that can hear should give careful attention to what the Holy Spirit says to the gatherings of believers.
¶ Whoever is able to hear should understand and heed/obey what God’s Spirit says to the communities of God’s people.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: Translate this saying as you did in 2:7.
The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
Anyone who gains victory will not be harmed in any way by the second death.
You(plur) who defeat/conquer everything that causes a believer to stumble will not die the second time.
The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
the second death will not be able to hurt/harm those who overcome
The one who overcomes: The phrase The one who overcomes is emphasized in the Greek by being first in the clause. If you have a natural way in your language to emphasize this phrase, you may want to do so. For example:
As for he who conquers, he
Regarding those who win the victory, they
overcomes: The word overcomes means “triumphs” or “obtains/wins victory.” Here the word refers to having success over sin, evil, and pressure to turn away from Jesus. He continues believing and following Jesus even though he might be killed for it. See how you translated a similar phrase (“To the one who overcomes”) in 2:7.
not be harmed by the second death: This is a figure of speech that indicates that believers will not die the second death. In some languages it is not natural to say that death can harm or hurt someone. Instead, it is more natural to:
Use a different word. For example:
not be touched by the second death
not be affected by the second death
Translate the noun death as a verb. For example:
not die the second time
the second death: This phrase refers to God punishing people forever after they have died physically. The first death is physical death. The second death is being thrown into the lake of fire (20:10, 14–15).
In some languages people will not understand the figurative meaning of the phrase the second death. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain its meaning in your translation. For example:
the second death, namely, eternal punishment
Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:
“The second death” refers to being thrown into the lake of fire (20:10,14–15).
second: The word second refers to an item in a list that is counted as two, which is after the item counted as one. Some languages use a phrase for the meaning of the word second. Other ways to translate this word are:
the one after the first
the other
the next one
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ὁ ἔχων οὖς, ἀκουσάτω & ὁ νικῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τό Πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις Ὁ νικῶν οὒ μή ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου)
See how you translated these phrases in [2:7](../02/07.md).
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὁ νικῶν οὐ μὴ ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τό Πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις Ὁ νικῶν οὒ μή ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου)
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. Alternate translation: [The second death will certainly not hurt anyone who conquers]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives
οὐ μὴ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τό Πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις Ὁ νικῶν οὒ μή ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου)
As the General Introduction to Revelation discusses, John frequently uses a double negative for emphasis that the ULT translates with the expression “certainly not,” as in this case. The second negative does not cancel the first to create a positive meaning. If for emphasis your language uses double negatives that do not cancel one another, it would be appropriate to use that construction here and in the other instances of this double negative throughout the book.
Note 4 topic: translate-ordinal
τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου
the death ¬the second
If your language does not use ordinal numbers, you can use a cardinal number here or an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: [death number two] or [the next death]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὐ μὴ ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τό Πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις Ὁ νικῶν οὒ μή ἀδικηθῇ ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ δευτέρου)
Jesus is speaking as if people who had died would die a second time. By the second death, he means separation from God. That is spiritual death, just as physical death involves the separation of the human soul and spirit from the human body. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [will certainly not experience separation from God after he dies physically]
2:11 Faithfulness until death is described as being victorious; overcoming the second death means receiving eternal life (see 20:5-6, 14; 21:8).
OET (OET-LV) The one having an_ear, him_let_hear what the spirit is_saying to_the assemblies.
The one overcoming by_no_means not may_be_injured by the death the second.
OET (OET-RV) Everyone who wants to understand needs to listen to what God’s spirit is saying to the assemblies.
¶ Anyone who stays true won’t be affected by the second death.”
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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