REV 1:6 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, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
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 and he has made us a kingdom, priests to God and his Father—to him be the glory and the power to the ages. Amen.

UST Jesus is the one who has caused us to become people over whose lives God rules. He has also made us priests who serve God, who is the Father of Jesus. May people glorify Jesus and acknowledge him as their ruler throughout eternity. May it be so!

BSB [who] has made us {to be} a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him [be] the glory and power forever [and] ever! Amen.

MSB [who] has made us {to be} a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him [be] the glory and power forever [and] ever![fn] Amen.

BLB and He has made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion to the ages of the ages. Amen.

AICNT and[fn] he has made {us}[fn] {a kingdom, priests}[fn] to his God and Father; to him be glory and dominion forever [and ever].[fn] Amen.

1:6, and: Or also

1:6, us: Some manuscripts read “to us.” A(02)

1:6, a kingdom, priests: Later manuscripts read “kings and priests.” TR

1:6, and ever: C(04) BYZ TR NA28[ ] SBLGNT THGNT ‖ Absent from 𝔓18 A(02).

OEB and he made us a kingdom of priests in the service of God, his Father! – to him be ascribed glory and dominion for ever. Amen.

WEBBE and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! Amen.

LSV [He] has also made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him—the glory and the power through the ages of the ages! Amen.

FBV who made us into his kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to Jesus be glory and authority for ever and ever. Amen.

TCNT and made us [fn]to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power forever [fn]and ever. Amen.

1:6 to be a kingdom, 𝔐^C,K [69.7%] ¦ kings and 𝔐^A TR [22%]

1:6 and ever 𝔐^A+,C,K 82.5% ¦ — 𝔐^A− WH 15.2%

T4T He is the one who has caused us to become people whose lives God rules, and he has made us to be priests who serve God his Father. As a result of this, we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is eternally divine and eternally powerful. ◄Amen!/That is true!►

LEB and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power _⌊forever and ever_⌋[fn]. Amen.

1:6 Literally “for the ages of the ages”

BBE And has made us to be a kingdom and priests to his God and Father; to him let glory and power be given for ever and ever. So be it.

Moff he has made us a realm of priests for his God and Father,--to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever: Amen.

Wymth and has formed us into a Kingdom, to be priests to God, His Father—to Him be ascribed the glory and the power until the Ages of the Ages. Amen.

ASV and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

DRA And hath made us a kingdom, and priests to God and his Father, to him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

YLT and did make us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him [is] the glory and the power to the ages of the ages! Amen.

Drby and made us a kingdom, priests to his [fn]God and Father: to him [be] the glory and the might to the ages of ages. Amen.

1.6 Elohim

RV and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

SLT And he made us kings and priests to God and his Father; to him the glory and strength for the times of times.

Wbstr And hath made us kings and priests to God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

KJB-1769 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
(And hath/has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. )

KJB-1611 And hath made vs Kings and Priests vnto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion for euer and euer, Amen.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And made vs kynges and priestes vnto God his father, be glorie and dominion for euermore. Amen.
(And made us kings and priests unto God his father, be glory and dominion forever. Amen.)

Gnva And made vs Kings and Priests vnto God euen his Father, to him I say be glory, and dominion for euermore, Amen.
(And made us Kings and Priests unto God even his Father, to him I say be glory, and dominion forever, Amen. )

Cvdl and made vs kinges & Prestes vnto God his father, be glory, and dominion for euer more. Amen.
(and made us kings and Priests unto God his father, be glory, and dominion forever more. Amen.)

TNT and made vs kinges and Prestes vnto God his father be glory and dominion for ever more. Amen.
(and made us kings and Priests unto God his father be glory and dominion forever more. Amen. )

Wycl and made vs a kyngdom, and preestis to God and to his fader; to hym be glorie and empire in to worldis of worldis.
(and made us a kingdom, and priests to God and to his fader; to him be glory and empire in to worlds of worlds.)

Luth und hat uns zu Königen und Priestern gemacht vor GOtt und seinem Vater: demselbigen sei Ehre und Gewalt von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit! Amen.
(and has us/to_us/ourselves to/for kings and priests made before/in_front_of God and his father: the_same be honour(n) and violence from eternity to/for eternity! Amen.)

ClVg et fecit nos regnum, et sacerdotes Deo et Patri suo: ipsi gloria et imperium in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.[fn]
(and he_did us kingdom, and priests to_God and Patri his_own: themselves glory and government in/into/on forever of_the_ages. Amen. )

1.6 Et fecit nos Deo nostro regnum. Id est potentes vitiis resistere, et sacerdotes, id est pro nobis et pro fratribus nosmetipsos Deo offerentes.

1.6 And he_did us to_God our kingdom. That it_is powerful vices/defects to_resist, and priests, that it_is for us and for brothers nosmetipsos to_God offering.

UGNT καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί αὐτοῦ— αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ἀμήν!
(kai epoiaʸsen haʸmas basileian, hiereis tōi Theōi kai Patri autou— autōi haʸ doxa kai to kratos eis tous aiōnas. amaʸn!)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ— αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας ⸂τῶν αἰώνων⸃· ἀμήν.
(kai epoiaʸsen haʸmas basileian, hiereis tōi theōi kai patri autou— autōi haʸ doxa kai to kratos eis tous aiōnas ⸂tōn aiōnōn⸃; amaʸn.)

RP-GNT καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
(kai epoiaʸsen haʸmas basileian, hiereis tōi theōi kai patri autou; autōi haʸ doxa kai to kratos eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amaʸn.)

TC-GNT καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς [fn]βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας [fn]τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
(kai epoiaʸsen haʸmas basileian, hiereis tōi Theōi kai patri autou; autōi haʸ doxa kai to kratos eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amaʸn. )

1:6 βασιλειαν 𝔐^C,K [69.7%] ¦ βασιλεις και 𝔐^A TR [22%]

1:6 των αιωνων 𝔐^A+,C,K 82.5% ¦ — 𝔐^A− WH 15.2%

Key for above GNTs: orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:4–8: John greeted the churches and praised Jesus

In this section, John identified himself and indicated to whom the letter was addressed. He greeted them in the usual way that was done in letters at that time. He then praised Jesus and told the readers of this letter what its theme was.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Greetings to the Seven Churches (GNT)

John introduced himself and greeted the seven churches

Greeting and introduction from John

1:6a

who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—

and has made us into a kingdom; we are priests serving God his Father—
He caused us to live under God’s rule, where we are like priests, doing the will of his Father God.

has made us to be a kingdom, priests: There are two issues here.

Issue 1—The Greek text

There is a textual issue here:

The earliest Greek manuscripts have the word “kingdom.” (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NJB, NASB, NLT, GW, NET, NABRE, REB, ESV, NCV)
Some later Greek manuscripts have the word “kings. (KJV, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1).

Issue 2—Meaning

The Greek words are literally “has made us to be a kingdom, priests” (as in the BSB). There are several ways to interpret the Greek phrase:

It indicates that the words priests and kingdom describe the same thing, as in the RSV. (BSB, RSV, NASB, NABRE, GW, NET, REB, ESV)
It indicates that the kingdom consists of priests. For example:
made us a kingdom of priests (GNT) (GNT, NJB, NLT, NCV)
It indicates two things unconnected or only loosely connected with each other. He made his people to be a kingdom, and he also made them priests. For example:
He has made us his kingdom and his priests (NLT96) (NIV, NLT96)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the Greek words do not have “and” here, nor the grammar indicating “of.” Hughes, Aune, Swete, and Lenski support interpretation (1). Swete (page 8) says that adding and or of “are needless attempts to save the grammar.” Other ways to translate these words according to interpretation (1) are:

made us a kingdom, that is, priests

made us a kingdom. He also made us priests

made us to be a kingdom: These words mean “has caused us to become a united group under one king/leader.” God is the king. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

has caused us to become a nation/tribe/people-group

has appointed us as a kingdom (NET)

priests to His God and Father: The Greek words are literally “priests to his God and Father” (as in the BSB). This is a metaphor. Believers are like priests.

They are like priests because they serve God as a way of life. They devote themselves to doing what God wants them to do. There are several ways to translate this figure of speech:

Keep the figure of speech. For example:
priests for God his Father (GW)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
to become like priests of his Father God
Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
those who serve/worship God his Father
Keep the metaphor or simile priests and explain the meaning. For example:
priests serving his God and Father (NET)

Translate this figure of speech in a way that makes the meaning clear in your language. Whether you are able to keep the figure of priests will depend partly on the role and function of priests in your culture. See the following note.

priests: A Jewish priest was a religious leader who:

offered sacrifices to God for the people,
led the people in worship, and
taught the people about God.

Here the word priests refers figuratively to people who serve God as a way of life. They worship God and help others to worship him also. Since Jesus died on the cross as our sacrifice, Christians do not offer sacrifices. If your usual word or phrase for priests focuses on sacrificing animals and food, you should translate the figurative meaning of priests here. For example:

those who always serve God his Father

people doing his Father God’s will/desire as a way of life

His God and Father: The pronoun His refers to Jesus. The word Father refers to God. In your translation, make sure that it is clear that the phrases His God and Father both refer to the one true God. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

God his Father (CEV)

his God and Father

1:6b

to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

to him goes glory and power for all time! Amen.
He is great and he has power eternally! It is true.
He has praise and rules mightily/powerfully throughout all ages! It is so.

to Him be the glory and power: The Greek words are literally “to him glory and power.” There is no verb in the Greek. The BSB and many other English versions add the verb be. This phrase indicates that John agreed that Jesus had glory and power. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

to him is glory and power

he is the one who is great and who has power forever

glory and power belong to him

to Him: The pronoun Him refers to Jesus.

glory: The Greek word that the BSB translates as glory here refers to the recognition of God having great status. He is greater than anything a person could think of.See also Luke 2:14, Romans 11:36, Ephesians 3:21, or Philippians 4:20 for the same use of the word glory.

power: This word refers to the ability and authority to cause things to happen. It does not refer to physical strength here. The RSV translates it as:

dominion

forever and ever: The Greek words are “into the ages of the ages.” It means “always” or “eternally.” Other ways to translate this phrase are:

for evermore

for all ages to come

Amen: The word Amen is a Hebrew word that means “even so” or “it is true.” It is used to agree with what was said. The Greek borrowed the Hebrew word. English borrowed this word as well.

In some languages people are not familiar with this word. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

General Comment on 1:5d–6b

Translate the meaning. For example:
It is so.
True!
Borrow this word and spell it as people in your language would say it. You may then want to explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The word “amen” means “even so” or “it is true.”

These clauses contain a description of Jesus Christ and what he has done (1:5d–6a), followed by a call to praise him (1:6b). In some languages it is more natural to translate 1:6b first, and then tell about who Jesus is and what he did (1:5d–6a). For example:

^6bGlory and power be to him! ^5dHe has loved us ^5eand shed his blood to free us from our sins! ^6aAnd he has made us into a kingdom, priests to serve his God and Father!

If you do this, you will need to combine the verses as “5–6.”

1:5d–6b

(reordered) He who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father has glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

(reordered) He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. Glory and power for ever and ever belong to him! Amen.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns

ἐποίησεν & αὐτοῦ & αὐτῷ

made & ˱of˲_him & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐποίησεν ἡμάς βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας Ἀμήν)

The pronouns he, his, and him all refer to Jesus. It may be helpful to clarify this for your readers. Alternate translation: [Jesus has made … his … to Jesus]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί αὐτοῦ

˓a˒_kingdom priests ¬the ˱to˲_God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐποίησεν ἡμάς βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας Ἀμήν)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of a kingdom, you could express the same idea in another way. The phrase a kingdom, priests to God is an allusion to [Exodus 19:6](../exo/19/06.md), where God tells the Israelites, “You will be to me a kingdom of priests.” This means that the Israelites will have the God as their king and that they will lead the other people of the world to worship God. Alternate translation: [people who obey God, the Father of Jesus Christ, as their king and who lead others to worship him]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί αὐτοῦ

¬the ˱to˲_God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐποίησεν ἡμάς βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας Ἀμήν)

This phrase expresses a single idea by using two words connected with and. The phrase his Father tells who God is. If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this meaning with an equivalent phrase that does not use “and.” Alternate translation: [to God, who is his Father]

Note 4 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples

Πατρί

Father

Father is an important title that describes the relationship between God and Jesus. Be sure to retain this title in your translation.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος

˱to˲_him_‹be› the glory (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐποίησεν ἡμάς βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας Ἀμήν)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for glory or power, you could express these ideas in other ways. Alternate translation: [may all of creation acknowledge how glorious and powerful he is]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας

to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐποίησεν ἡμάς βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας Ἀμήν)

This expression refers to endless future time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [forever]

Note 7 topic: translate-transliterate

ἀμήν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐποίησεν ἡμάς βασιλείαν ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί αὐτοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας Ἀμήν)

See the discussion in the General Introduction to Revelation about how to represent the word Amen in your translation here and in its other occurrences throughout the book.

Parallel REV 1:6

Section 1:4–8: John greeted the churches and praised Jesus

1:6a

1:6b

General Comment on 1:5d–6b

1:5d–6b