OET interlinear REV 5:9

5:9a

they sang a new song: The word new here indicates that no one had sung this song before. It was a song for this occasion. Other ways to translate this clause are:

they sang a newly composed song

they sang a song that had never been sung before

they: This pronoun refers to the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders (5:8).

5:9b–10b

These words are a song praising the Lamb. If possible, translate and print them in a way that shows that they are a song or poetry.

5:9b

Worthy: The word Worthy indicates that it was right and proper for the Lamb to open the seals. He deserved this privilege. See how you translated this word in 5:2.

Here the word Worthy is emphasized in the Greek. If possible, emphasize the word Worthy naturally in your language. For example:

Worthy are You (BSB, NASB)

You are indeed worthy

open its seals: This phrase refers to breaking the seals on the scroll so that the scroll can be unrolled. You may want to use the same verb that you used for “break the seals” in 5:2.

5:9c

You were slain: The word slain means “killed” (as in the GNT). This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. In this verse, the exact people who killed Jesus is not important. For example:

they/people killed you

5:9d

and: This conjunction indicates that the living creatures and the elders continue to tell why the Lamb was worthy.

by Your blood You purchased for God those: There is a textual issue in 5:9d: (1) One early Greek manuscript does not have a word such as “men” as the object of the word “purchased” here. Many English versions follow that manuscript but add the word “men” or “people” for natural English (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NJB, NASB, NLT, GW, CEV, NET, NABRE, REB, ESV, NCV). (2) One early Greek manuscript and some later Greek manuscripts have the word us (KJV only). It is recommended that you follow option (1), because the UBS Greek NT supports it with their best rating. This clause indicates that the Lamb died as a sacrifice. He willingly shed his blood on the cross. That was the price he paid to redeem people from the penalty of sin. By believing in him they could belong to God. Other ways to translate this clause are:

by your blood you ransomed for God saints (NRSV)The NRSV repeats the word “saints” here from 5:8e, instead of adding a different implied word. The same group is meant as the BSB, namely, believers.

You bought people with your blood to be God’s own (GW)

by dying as a sacrifice, you paid for the way for people to belong to God

by Your blood: This phrase refers to dying as a sacrifice. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

at the cost of your own blood (NET)

with the blood of your death (NCV)

by shedding/spilling your life blood

purchased: The Greek word that the BSB translates as purchased refers to acquiring or obtaining something by giving something in exchange for it. Other ways to translate this word are:

bought (NJB)

ransomed (ESV)

those: Here the word those refers to people who were “purchased.” Another way to translate this word is:

people (GNT)

from every tribe and tongue and people and nation: As indicated by the BSB, the Greek word every only occurs before the word tribe. The word tribe applies to each of the four groups. In some languages it is more natural to repeat it for each group. For example:

from every tribe, every language, every people, and every nation

from all tribes, from all languages, from all places and from all kingdomsYakan Back Translation on TW.

tribe: The Greek word that the BSB translates as tribe can refer to a whole people group. It can also refer to a subgroup within the people group, like the English word “clan” does.

tongue: The Greek word that the BSB translates as tongue here refers to all of the people who speak a certain language. In some languages it is more natural to refer to the people directly. For example:

people speaking every different language

people: The Greek word that the BSB translates as people here refers to a large group of people. But it is sometimes used to refer to a whole country, which may have many people groups in it.

nation: The Greek word that the BSB translates as nation here refers to a group of people who share a common culture. But it is sometimes used to refer to a whole country, which may have many people groups in it. It is similar in meaning to “people” above, but here it probably refers to a group of people under one government.