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OET (OET-LV) And I_have_said to_him:
master of_me, you you_have_known.
And he_said to_me:
These are the ones coming out_of the tribulation the great, and they_washed the robes of_them, and they_whitened them in the blood of_the lamb.
OET (OET-RV) “Sir, you are the one who knows,” I answered.
¶ And then he told me, “Those are the ones who’ve come through the terrible tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white.
In this section, John saw a new part of this vision. He saw believers rejoicing, praising, and worshiping in heaven. One of the elders around the throne (4:4) explained the vision to John.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The vision of a huge crowd of believers and its explanation
The Great Multitude in White Robes (NIV)
God’s People Around His Throne in Heaven (GW)
“Sir,” I answered, “you know.”
I replied, “My lord, you yourself know.”
I answered, “Sir, you know who they are, not I. Please tell me.”
Sir: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Sir is literally “my lord.” The phrase is used to show honor to someone of higher status. The BSB and many other English versions use the more general word Sir. But in English “my” is not natural before Sir.
you know: This phrase indicates that John expected the elder to tell him what he knew. This rhetorical statement is a polite request that the elder tell him who they are. John probably did not know or did not want to guess. The pronoun you is emphasized in the Greek. You may need to include some implied information to indicate that John expected a reply. For example:
it is you who knows, so would you please tell me?
I do not know but you do. Please tell me.
So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation;
And he said, “These people are the ones who have passed through the great ordeal.
And he replied to me, “These people are the believers who have ended/finished enduring the terrible distress.
the ones who have come out of the great tribulation: Here, the phrase come out indicates that earlier these people were in the great tribulation. They experienced all or part of the suffering of that time. The phrase come out also indicates that the great tribulation no longer affects them. They now stand before God and Jesus (7:9). Other ways to translate these words are:
They are those who have passed through the great ordeal (REB)
people who have ended their time in the great tribulation
believers who have finished experiencing/enduring the great tribulation
people who have been through the great trial (NJB)
the great tribulation: The Greek word that the BSB translates as tribulation means “distress,” “trouble,” or “oppression.” This phrase probably refers to the time just before Jesus returns. At that time God will send severe troubles upon the people of the earth. People will also severely persecute believers during that time. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the great ordeal (NRSV)
the terrible suffering (GW)
the great distress (NCV)
In some languages it is necessary to translate the noun tribulation using a verb. For example:
the time when people suffer terribly
If you have translated Matthew 24:21 (“great tribulation”), see how you translated this meaning there.
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb: These words refer figuratively to the believers becoming clean with respect to sin.Beale (page 436) says that the metaphor means that, “the saints have been cleansed from their sin by their persevering faith in Christ’s death.” Mounce, Hughes, Swete, Lenski, Osbourne, and Beckwith also refer to cleansing here. Jesus’ blood cleans them.
In some languages a literal translation would not indicate the figurative meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:
These words refer figuratively to Jesus cleaning the believers from their sin.
Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, that is, he has made them clean from sin.
Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:
they have become clean from sin by means of the blood of the Lamb You may also want a footnote to explain the literal words. An example footnote is:
Literally: “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
they have washed their robes
They have washed their robes/clothes
robes: A robe is a one-piece, long, loose garment that the people of that time wore. See how you translated this word in 7:9.
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
and whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
in the blood of the Lamb and completely whitened them, showing they were now holy before God.
made them white in the blood of the Lamb: The Greek word that the BSB translates as made them white refers to removing stains from white cloth. The cloth becomes pure white again. These words refer figuratively to being made pure.Aune (page 474) refers to this as a “purifying process.” Osbourne and Smalley also refer to purifying here.
in the blood of the Lamb: This phrase belongs with both verb phrases (“have washed their robes” and “made them white”). Place this phrase where it is natural in your language. For example:
in the blood of the Lamb they have washed their robes and made them white
The word “washed” and the phrase “made them white” probably refer to the same event. The robes are made white by being washed.
Note 1 topic: writing-politeness
κύριέ μου, σὺ οἶδας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἴρηκα αὐτῷ Κύριε μού σύ οἶδας Καί εἶπεν μοί Οὗτοι εἰσίν οἱ ἐρχόμενοι ἐκ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς μεγάλης καί ἔπλυναν τάς στολάς αὐτῶν καί ἐλεύκαναν αὐτάς ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Ἀρνίου)
John is answering the elder politely. You may translate this the way someone would respond politely in your language to a question whose answer they did not know. Alternate translation: [I do not know, please tell me]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
τῆς θλίψεως τῆς μεγάλης
the tribulation ¬the great
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of tribulatron, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the time when believers in Jesus will be greatly persecuted]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἔπλυναν τὰς στολὰς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐλεύκαναν αὐτὰς ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Ἀρνίου
˱they˲_washed (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἴρηκα αὐτῷ Κύριε μού σύ οἶδας Καί εἶπεν μοί Οὗτοι εἰσίν οἱ ἐρχόμενοι ἐκ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς μεγάλης καί ἔπλυναν τάς στολάς αὐτῶν καί ἐλεύκαναν αὐτάς ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Ἀρνίου)
As in [3:4](../03/04.md) and other passages in the book, robes that are white represent purity of life and devotion to Jesus. The blood of the Lamb is the blood that Jesus shed when he died on the cross as the Savior. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. The UST models one way to do this.
7:14 who died in (literally who came out of): See 6:9; 20:4.
• the great tribulation: A time of horrible and distressing events (see 1:9; 2:9-10; Deut 4:30-31; Matt 24:21-22; Acts 14:22).
• They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb: This description symbolizes Christ’s redeeming death for them.
• made them white: This description expresses their victory over sin and death and their acceptance by God into eternal life.
OET (OET-LV) And I_have_said to_him:
master of_me, you you_have_known.
And he_said to_me:
These are the ones coming out_of the tribulation the great, and they_washed the robes of_them, and they_whitened them in the blood of_the lamb.
OET (OET-RV) “Sir, you are the one who knows,” I answered.
¶ And then he told me, “Those are the ones who’ve come through the terrible tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white.
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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