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OET (OET-LV) And the fourth messenger trumpeted, and was_struck the third of_the sun, and the third of_the moon, and the third of_the stars, in_order_that may_be_darkened the third of_them, and the day not may_appear for_the third of_it, and the night likewise.
OET (OET-RV) Then the fourth messenger blew his trumpet and a third of the sun and the moon were struck and the sun didn’t shine for a third of the day, nor the moon for a third of the night. One third of the stars were struck and went dark.
In this section, the blowing of each trumpet signaled a disaster. God would send these disasters upon the people of the earth. Some of the disasters were hail, fire, and poisoned water.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Seven Angels and Trumpets (NCV)
The Seven Trumpets (NRSV)
Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet,
¶ The fourth angel blew his trumpet,
¶ When the fourth angel blew his trumpet,
fourth: The word fourth refers to the next item after three other things. If counted, this item would be counted as number four. See how you translated this word in 4:7 or 6:7.
and a third of the sun and moon and stars were struck.
and a third of the sun was hit/affected, a third of the moon also, and a third of the stars also,
someone hit/affected a third part of the sun, a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars.
a third of the sun and moon and stars were struck: The word struck figuratively refers to God causing that part to become dark. This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. God probably ordered someone to strike the sun and moon and stars. For example:
a third of the sun became dark, a third of the moon was struck, a third of the stars were struck
someone struck/affected the sun, someone struck/affected a third of the moon, someone struck/affected one out of every three stars
God had someone strike/affect a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars.
a third of: Here the word third refers to one part out of three parts. See how you translated this phrase in 8:7.
A third of the stars were darkened,
so that a third of them all became dark.
And so a third of each of them no longer gave light.
A third of the stars were darkened: Probably a third of the stars stopped shining. For the sun and moon, there are two ways to interpret this clause:
It indicates that one part of three parts of the sun and one part of three parts of the moon became dark.
It indicates that the sun and moon both gave one-third less light.
Translate possible in a way that allows either or both meanings. For example:
the light went out of a third of them (NJB)
their light lost a third of its brightness (GNT)
The clause in 8:12c “A third of the stars were darkened” refers to what happened to the sun, moon, and stars. Some ways to indicate that are:
Translate this clause as a new sentence that refers back to the whole previous sentence. For example:
a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck. So a third of them became dark, (NCV)
Add a word such as “each” or “all.” For example:
a third of them all became dark
one-third of each turned dark
a third of the day was without light, and a third of the night as well.
A third part of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
One of three parts of both the day and night were dark.
a third of the day was without light: This clause probably indicates that the sun did not shine for four out of twelve daylight hours. You should translate this clause without describing details, since the details were not told. For example:
A third part of the day was without light
One of three parts of the day was dark
One part of the day was dark and two parts were not dark
a third of the night as well: The phrase “was without light” is implied here but not repeated. In some languages it is more natural to repeat the phrase. For example:
a third of the night was without light
a third of the night was dark
the night was dark a third of the time
In the nighttime four hours didn’t have even any stars show.Otomi Back Translation on TW.
at night for four hours the moon and the stars did not give light.Yakan Back Translation on TW.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἐπλήγη τὸ τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων
˓was˒_struck (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν καί ἐπλήγη τό τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καί τό τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καί τό τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τό τρίτον αὐτῶν καί ἡ ἡμέρα μή φάνῃ τό τρίτον αὐτῆς καί ἡ νύξ ὁμοίως)
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: [a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐπλήγη τὸ τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων; ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῶν
˓was˒_struck (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν καί ἐπλήγη τό τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καί τό τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καί τό τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τό τρίτον αὐτῶν καί ἡ ἡμέρα μή φάνῃ τό τρίτον αὐτῆς καί ἡ νύξ ὁμοίως)
If your language does not use these passive forms, you could express the ideas in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [God struck a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars so that a third of them turned dark]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
σκοτισθῇ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῶν
˓may_be˒_darkened (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν καί ἐπλήγη τό τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καί τό τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καί τό τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τό τρίτον αὐτῶν καί ἡ ἡμέρα μή φάνῃ τό τρίτον αὐτῆς καί ἡ νύξ ὁμοίως)
The phrase a third of them were darkened could mean: (1) one third of the time, the sun, moon, and stars were dark, or (2) one third of the sun, one third of the moon, and one third of the stars became dark. You could say either of these things as an alternate translation.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἡ ἡμέρα μὴ φάνῃ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῆς
the day the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν καί ἐπλήγη τό τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καί τό τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καί τό τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τό τρίτον αὐτῶν καί ἡ ἡμέρα μή φάνῃ τό τρίτον αὐτῆς καί ἡ νύξ ὁμοίως)
When John says of a third of the day that it did not shine, he means by association that the sun did not shine during a third of the day. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the sun did not shine during one third of the day]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὁμοίως
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν καί ἐπλήγη τό τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καί τό τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καί τό τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τό τρίτον αὐτῶν καί ἡ ἡμέρα μή φάνῃ τό τρίτον αὐτῆς καί ἡ νύξ ὁμοίως)
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: [and likewise a third of the night did not shine] or [and likewise the moon and the stars did not shine during one third of the night]
8:12 the fourth angel: On the fourth day of creation, God made the sun . . . the moon, and . . . the stars (Gen 1:14-19).
• the day was dark: This judgment replicates the ninth plague in Egypt (Exod 10:21-23).
OET (OET-LV) And the fourth messenger trumpeted, and was_struck the third of_the sun, and the third of_the moon, and the third of_the stars, in_order_that may_be_darkened the third of_them, and the day not may_appear for_the third of_it, and the night likewise.
OET (OET-RV) Then the fourth messenger blew his trumpet and a third of the sun and the moon were struck and the sun didn’t shine for a third of the day, nor the moon for a third of the night. One third of the stars were struck and went dark.
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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