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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 5 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14
OET (OET-LV) And when he_took the four, scroll the living_creatures and the twenty four elders fell before the lamb, having each a_harp and bowls golden being_full of_incenses, which are the prayers of_the holy ones.
OET (OET-RV) When he’d taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders knelt down in front of the lamb. Each elder held a harp and a bowl that was full of incense (which symbolised the prayers of the believers).
In this section, John described the one who was worthy to open the seals. He was like a lamb that had been killed. John also described those who worshiped the lamb. Then he wrote what they said.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Every being/person praised the Lamb
Worship of the Lamb that was slain
The Lamb is praised/worshiped
When He had taken the scroll,
When he took the scroll,
Immediately after taking it,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.
the four living beings and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves in front of the Lamb.
the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders knelt and put their faces to the ground with arms outstretched before the Lamb.
fell down: Here the phrase fell down refers to kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone. The elders and creatures did this deliberately in order to show humility before God and to honor him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
prostrated themselves (NJB)
threw themselves to the ground (NET)
Some languages have a different action that shows complete humility and honor to someone. If that is true in your language, you may want to use that action here. See how you translated this phrase in 3:9 or 4:10.
Each one had a harp,
Each of them had a harp
They each had a stringed instrument
Each one: This phrase probably refers to both the living creatures and the elders.Osbourne, Kistemaker, Mounce, Hughes, and Johnson say it is both the living creatures and the elders, but don’t make it clear why they say so. Beale, Smalley, Aune, Swete, and Lenski say it is only the elders here. Some argue that the masculine form of “each” in the Greek requires it only refer to the elders since “creatures” in Greek in neuter. But in mixed groups including male participants (i.e., men and women) the masculine form is always used. The living creatures participate in worship in other places of this vision, so it seems best to include them here. Many English versions do not try to make it clear whether this word refers to both groups or just the elders. For example, the NJB says:
each one of them
Some scholars think this refers only to the elders. For example, the REB says:
Each of the elders
harp: A harp is a stringed instrument which is used to make music. There were several types of harps. Two examples are:
If harps are not known in your area, you may want to:
Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
stringed musical instrument called a harp
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
A harp is a stringed musical instrument.
and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,
and held a golden bowl filled with incense,
and held a bowl made of gold full of dried tree sap. It burned and made a sweet-smelling smoke.
golden bowls: Here these bowls were the kind used to burn incense.
They were not the kind used for eating. They were probably shaped like bowls used in eating. But you should not refer to them as “soup dishes” or anything else referring to food.
golden: The word golden indicates that the bowls were made of gold. Gold is a rare metal of a somewhat yellow color. It was the most expensive metal known at that time. It is naturally shiny and beautiful. See how you translated this word in 1:12.
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. An example footnote is:
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.
which are the prayers of the saints.
which are the prayers of the believers.
This sap and smoke represented/symbolized the prayers of God’s holy people.
which are the prayers of the saints: This clause tells the reader more about the bowls full of incense. The clause indicates that the incense in each bowl is a symbol for the prayers of the saints.Beale (pages 357–358) explains well why only the incense represents the prayers. Also see Revelation 8:3–4.
Be sure to translate this in such a way that it is clear that John is informing his readers what these bowls represent. He is not distinguishing them from other bowls by saying in what way they differ. If it would be helpful in your language, translate these words so that they tell more about the incense. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:
The incense in the bowls was the prayers of the saints.
In some languages it will be necessary to indicate explicitly that the incense is a symbol. For example:
which are symbolically the prayers of the saints
The incense represents the prayers of the saints
the saints: The Greek word that the BSB translates as saints means “holy ones.” The word does not refer to a small group of believers who were extremely godly. Here the word refers to all believers. For example:
God’s people (GNT)
Note 1 topic: translate-symaction
ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον
fell before
Be sure that it is clear in your translation that the living creatures and elders did not fall down accidentally. They bowed down in front of the Lamb as a gesture to honor him. Alternate translation: [bowed down respectfully to]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἔχοντες ἕκαστος
having each
It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. This could mean: (1) that each of the elders had a harp and golden bowls of incense. Alternate translation: [Each of the elders had] (2) that each of the living creatures and elders had a harp and golden bowls of incense. Alternate translation: [Each of the living creatures and elders had]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
αἵ εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων
which (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἔλαβεν τό βιβλίον τά τέσσαρα ζῷα καί οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Ἀρνίου ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάραν καί φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων αἵ εἰσίν αἱ προσευχαί τῶν ἁγίων)
When John says that these golden bowls are the prayers of the saints, he likely means by association that the incense in the bowls represents the prayers, since prayers ascend to God in heaven similarly to the way that incense rises through the air and pleasantly attracts attention. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this by using a singular verb that would refer to the incense rather than a plural verb that would refer to the bowls. Alternate translation: [which is the prayers of the saints]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τῶν ἁγίων
˱of˲_the holy_‹ones›
As the General Introduction to Revelation discusses, John often uses the term saints to describe people who believe in Jesus and obey him faithfully. John uses the term by association with the way these people are set apart as holy for God. Your language may have a term or expression of its own that would convey this meaning that you could use throughout the book. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: [of the disciples of Jesus] or [of believers in Jesus]
5:8 fell down before the Lamb: The crucified and risen Christ has divine authority to initiate the events of this age; he is fully worthy of worship.
• The prayers of God’s people become a significant basis for the judgments and plagues (6:9-11; 8:2-5).
OET (OET-LV) And when he_took the four, scroll the living_creatures and the twenty four elders fell before the lamb, having each a_harp and bowls golden being_full of_incenses, which are the prayers of_the holy ones.
OET (OET-RV) When he’d taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders knelt down in front of the lamb. Each elder held a harp and a bowl that was full of incense (which symbolised the prayers of the believers).
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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