REV 11:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

UST Those witnesses are the ones whom the two olive trees and the two lampstands represent. Those trees and lampstands are in the presence of the Lord, who rules the earth.

BSB These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.[fn]

MSB These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord[fn] of the earth.[fn]

BLB These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the Lord of the earth.

AICNT These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before {the Lord}[fn] of the earth.

11:4, the Lord: Later manuscripts read “God.” TR

OEB These men are represented by the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord of the earth.

WEBBE These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands, standing before the Lord of the earth.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET (These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.)

LSV these are the two olive [trees], and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth;

FBV They are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand in front of the Lord of the earth.[fn]

11:4 A reference to Zechariah 4:14.

TCNT These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the [fn]Lord of the earth.

11:4 Lord 𝔐^C,K [75.8%] ¦ God 𝔐^A TR [24.2%]

T4T Those witnesses are the ones that are represented by the two olive trees and the two lampstands that are in the presence of the Lord who rules the earth [SYM].

LEB These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

BBE These are the two olive-trees and the two lights, which are before the Lord of the earth.

Moff (they are the two olive-trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth):

Wymth "These witnesses are the two olive-trees, and they are the two lamps which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth.

ASV These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.

DRA These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks, that stand before the Lord of the earth.

YLT these are the two olive [trees], and the two lamp-stands that before the God of the earth do stand;

Drby These are the two olive trees and the two lamps which stand before the Lord of the earth;

RV These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.

SLT These are the two olive trees, and the two chandeliers which having stood before the God of the earth.

Wbstr These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

KJB-1769 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

KJB-1611 These are the two oliue trees, and the two candlestickes, standing before the God of the earth.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps These are two oliue trees, and two candlestickes, standyng before the God of the earth.
(These are two olive trees, and two candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth.)

Gnva These are two oliue trees, and two candlestickes, standing before the God of the earth.
(These are two olive trees, and two candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth. )

Cvdl These are two olyue trees, and two candelstyckes, stondinge before the God of the earth.
(These are two olive trees, and two candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth.)

TNT These are two olyve trees and two candlestyckes stodinge before the god of the erth
(These are two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before the god of the earth )

Wycl These ben tweyne olyues, and twei candilstikis, and thei stonden in the siyt of the Lord of the erthe.
(These been twain/two_or_both olives, and twain/two_or_both candlesticks, and they stood in the sight of the Lord of the earth.)

Luth Diese sind zween Ölbäume und zwo Fackeln, stehend vor dem GOtt der Erde.
(This/These are two olive_trees and two torches, standd before/in_front_of to_him God the/of_the earth/land/ground.)

ClVg Hi sunt duæ olivæ et duo candelabra in conspectu Domini terræ stantes.
(They are two olives and two candelabra in/into/on in_sight Master of_the_earth/land standing. )

UGNT οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καὶ αἱ δύο λυχνίαι, αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶτες.
(houtoi eisin hai duo elaiai kai hai duo luⱪniai, hai enōpion tou Kuriou taʸs gaʸs hestōtes.)

SBL-GNT Οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καὶ αἱ δύο λυχνίαι αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου τῆς γῆς ⸀ἑστῶτες.
(Houtoi eisin hai duo elaiai kai hai duo luⱪniai hai enōpion tou kuriou taʸs gaʸs ⸀hestōtes.)

RP-GNT Οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι, καὶ αἱ δύο λυχνίαι αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶσαι.
(Houtoi eisin hai duo elaiai, kai hai duo luⱪniai hai enōpion tou kuriou taʸs gaʸs hestōsai.)

TC-GNT Οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καὶ [fn]αἱ δύο λυχνίαι αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ [fn]Κυρίου τῆς γῆς [fn]ἑστῶτες.
(Houtoi eisin hai duo elaiai kai hai duo luⱪniai hai enōpion tou Kuriou taʸs gaʸs hestōtes. )

11:4 αι 𝔐^A,C,K [96.3%] ¦ — ST [3.7%]

11:4 κυριου 𝔐^C,K [75.8%] ¦ θεου 𝔐^A TR [24.2%]

11:4 εστωτες 𝔐^K [40.5%] ¦ εστωσαι 𝔐^A,C ANT ECM^† PCK RP TR [58.1%]

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:1–14: The two witnesses

In this section, John saw a new part of this vision. He saw the temple in Jerusalem. Ungodly people controlled the outermost courtyard of the temple.

Then he saw two men who testified about God and Jesus. They were killed, but God caused them to live again and took them to heaven. At that time God caused an earthquake in which seven thousand people died. The rest of the people in Jerusalem then honored God.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

God’s two witnesses

Two men told/testified about God and Jesus in Jerusalem

11:4–10

There are two ways to interpret who spoke these verses:

They are not part of the quotation that began in 11:1. The speaker stopped speaking to John at the end of 11:3. For example:
³And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.… (RSV) (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NASB, NABRE, NLT, GW, CEV, REB, NCV, ESV)
They are part of the quotation. The speaker continues speaking until the end of 11:10. For example:
³But I shall send my two witnesses to prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth. ⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lamps in attendance on the Lord of the world.…¹⁰and the people of the world are glad about it and celebrate the event by giving presents to each other, because these two prophets have been a plague to the people of the world.’ (NJB) (NJB, NET)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Aune (page 577), Osbourne (page 419), Kistemaker (page 321), and Smalley (page 276) support interpretation (1).

11:4a–b

These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth: This clause describes the two witnesses using the symbols of two olive trees and two lampstands. It refers back to the prophecy in Zechariah 4:1–14.

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Translate this as a simile. For example:
These two witnesses are like two olive trees and two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth
Explain that the saying is symbolic. For example:
These two witnesses are symbolically the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth
Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. For example:
This sentence has olive trees and lampstands, like Zechariah 4:1–14 does.
Explain the reference in your translation. For example:
These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth, as is written in scripture

11:4a

These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands

¶ These witnesses are like two olive trees and two lamps on their stands
¶ These two people are symbolically the two olive trees and the two lampstands

olive trees: Olive trees have small round fruit. People squeeze the fruit and collect the oil. This oil is used in cooking and as fuel for lamps.

the two lampstands: A lampstand is a 1–2 meter (3–6 feet) tall stand. It has a place for a lamp on top. Here it is implied that lamps are on the lampstands. There were many kinds and styles of lampstand. The kind and style of lampstand is not important here.

A lamp in Jesus’ time was a small clay or metal container that people put oil in. The lamp was shaped to hold a wick on one side. The exact kind of lamp is not important here. So you should use a word that refers generally to this kind of lamp or light producing device.

See how you translated the word lampstands in 1:12 or 2:5.

11:4b

that stand before the Lord of the earth.

that are/remain before the Lord over the earth.
that stay in the presence of the Lord who rules the earth.

that stand before the Lord of the earth: This phrase refers to both the olive trees and the lampstands.

stand: Here the word stand indicates that the trees and lampstands are in the presence of the Lord of the earth.

the Lord of the earth: There is a textual issue in 11:4b: (1) The earliest Greek manuscripts have the phrase the Lord of the earth (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NJB, NASB, NLT, GW, CEV, NET, NABRE, REB, ESV, NCV). (2) Some later Greek manuscripts have the phrase the God of the earth (KJV only). It is recommended that you follow option (1), because the UBS Greek NT supports it. This phrase indicates that the Lord God rules over all that happens in the world. For example:

the Lord who rules the earth (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-symlanguage

οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καὶ αἱ δύο λυχνίαι, αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶτες

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὗτοι εἰσίν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καί αἱ δύο λυχνίαι αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶτες)

The two olive trees and the two lampstands symbolize these witnesses, but they are not literally the witnesses. Alternate translation: [The two olive trees and the two lampstands that stood before the Lord of the earth represent these witnesses]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὗτοί εἰσιν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καὶ αἱ δύο λυχνίαι, αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶτες

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὗτοι εἰσίν αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι καί αἱ δύο λυχνίαι αἱ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἑστῶτες)

John assumes that his readers will understand that he is alluding to the vision had by the prophet Zechariah, who saw two olive trees and two lampstands in [Zechariah 4:2–6](../zec/04/02.md). In that vision, the trees and lampstands represented the governor, Zerubbabel, and the high priest, Joshua, who led the rebuilding of the temple despite opposition. In the same way, the two witnesses in John’s vision will faithfully call people to obey God despite opposition. You could indicate that explicitly in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [These two witnesses will serve God faithfully despite opposition just as Zerubbabel and Joshua did, whom the prophet Zechariah saw depicted as two olive trees and two lampstands in a vision that God gave him]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

αἱ ἐνώπιον & ἑστῶτες

the the ¬which before & ˓having˒_stood

In this context, the phrase stand before means to stay in the presence of another person in order to serve them whenever needed. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [who faithfully serve]

Parallel REV 11:4

Section 11:1–14: The two witnesses

11:4–10

11:4a–b

11:4a

11:4b