REV 5:8 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.
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 when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls being full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

UST As soon as the Lamb accepted the scroll, the four living beings and the 24 elders knelt down in front of the Lamb. The elders each held a harp and some golden bowls that contained incense. The incense symbolized the prayers of people who belong to God.

BLB And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls being full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints.

AICNT And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

OEB and when he had taken it the four creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb, each of them holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense. (These are the prayers of Christ’s people.)

WEBBE Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

WMBB Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

NET and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints).

LSV And when He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each one having harps and golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the holy ones,

FBV When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the believers.

TCNT When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which [fn]contain the prayers of the saints.

5:8 contain 𝔐^K− [17%] ¦ are 𝔐^A,C ANT CT PCK TR [50.9%] • 𝔐^K+ HF RP [32.1%]

T4T When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders ◄prostrated themselves/knelt down► before Jesus, the one who is like a lamb, to worship him. They each had a harp, and they had golden bowls full of incense that represents the prayers of God’s people.

LEB And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one of whom had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

BBE And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty rulers went down on their faces before the Lamb, having every one an instrument of music, and gold vessels full of perfumes, which are the prayers of the saints.

Moff And when it took the scroll, the four living Creatures and the four and twenty Presbyters fell down before the Lamb, each with his harp and with golden bowls full of incense (that is, full of the prayers of the saints),

Wymth And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four Elders fell down before the Lamb, having each of them a harp and bringing golden bowls full of incense, which represent the prayers of God's people.

ASV And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

DRA And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints:

YLT And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each one harps and golden vials full of perfumes, which are the prayers of the saints,

Drby And when it took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each a harp and golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints.

RV And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

SLT And when he took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each harps, and golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the holy.

Wbstr And when he had taken the book, the four living beings, and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.

KJB-1769 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
(And when he had taken the book, the four beasts/animals and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. )

KJB-1611 And when he had taken the booke, the foure Beasts, and foure and twenty Elders fel down before the Lambe, hauing euery one of them harps, and golden vials full of [fn]odours, which are the prayers of Saints.
(And when he had taken the book, the four Beasts, and four and twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of Saints.)

5:8 Or, incense.

Bshps And when he had taken the booke, the foure beastes and 24 elders fell downe before the lambe, hauyng euery one of them harpes, and golden vyals full of odours, which are the prayers of saintes:
(And when he had taken the book, the four beasts/animals and 24 elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vyals full of odours, which are the prayers of saints:)

Gnva And when he had taken ye Booke, ye foure beasts and the foure and twenty Elders fel downe before the Lambe, hauing euery one harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the praiers of the Saintes,
(And when he had taken ye/you_all Booke, ye/you_all four beasts/animals and the four and twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the Saints, )

Cvdl And when he had taken the boke, the foure beestes and the xxiiij. elders fell downe before the lambe, hauinge harpes and golden vialles full of odoures (which are ye prayers of the sayntes)
(And when he had taken the book, the four beasts/animals and the xxiiij. elders fell down before the lamb, having harps and golden vialles full of odours (which are ye/you_all prayers of the saints))

TNT And when he had take the boke the .iiii. bestes and xxiiii. elders fell doune before the labe havynge harpes and golden vialles full of odoures which are the prayers of saynctes
(And when he had take the book the .iiii. bestes and xxiiii. elders fell down before the lamb having harps and golden vialles full of odours which are the prayers of saynctes )

Wycl And whanne he hadde opened the book, the foure beestis and the foure and twenti eldre men fellen doun bifore the lomb; and hadden ech of hem harpis, and goldun violis ful of odours, whiche ben the preyeris of seyntis.
(And when he had opened the book, the four beasts/animals and the four and twenty elder men fell down before the lamb; and had each of hem harps, and golden violis full of odours, which been the prayeris of saints.)

Luth Und da es das Buch nahm, da fielen die vier Tiere und die vierundzwanzig Ältesten vor das Lamm und hatten ein jeglicher Harfen und güldene Schalen voll Räuchwerks, welches sind die Gebete der Heiligen,
(And there it the book took, there fell the four animals and the twenty-four elders before/in_front_of the lamb and had a any/each harps and golden peel(n) full/whole incenses, which are the prayers the/of_the saints/holy_ones,)

ClVg Et cum aperuisset librum, quatuor animalia, et viginti quatuor seniores ceciderunt coram Agno, habentes singuli citharas, et phialas aureas plenas odoramentorum, quæ sunt orationes sanctorum:[fn]
(And when/with aperuisset book, four animals, and twenty four elders they_fell before Agno, having individually citharas, and bowls golds fulls smellamentorum, which are prayers holy_place: )

5.8 Ceciderunt coram agno. Humilia de se senserunt, quod ipsum imitantur, unde sequitur. Habentes singuli citharas. Mortificationes vitiorum et concupiscentiarum. In cithara lignum et chordæ: per lignum crux Christi, per chordas caro sanctorum, quæ tenditur in ligno, dum diversis tormentis eumdem sonum reddentes crucem Christi imitantur.

5.8 Ceciderunt before lamb. Humilia from/about himself senserunt, that him they_imitate, from_where/who follows. Habentes individually citharas. Mortificationes of_vices and desirerum. In cithara wood/timber and chordæ: through wood/timber stake/cross Christi, through chordas flesh/meat holy_place, which tendsur in/into/on wood, while different torments the_same sonum they_will_returnes cross/frame of_Christ they_imitate.

UGNT καὶ ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὸ βιβλίον, τὰ τέσσερα ζῷα καὶ οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Ἀρνίου, ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάραν καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων, αἵ εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων.
(kai hote elaben to biblion, ta tessera zōia kai hoi eikosi tessares presbuteroi epesan enōpion tou Arniou, eⱪontes hekastos kitharan kai fialas ⱪrusas gemousas thumiamatōn, hai eisin hai proseuⱪai tōn hagiōn.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὸ βιβλίον, τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα καὶ οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου, ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάραν καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων, αἵ εἰσιν ⸀αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων·
(kai hote elaben to biblion, ta tessara zōia kai hoi eikosi tessares presbuteroi epesan enōpion tou arniou, eⱪontes hekastos kitharan kai fialas ⱪrusas gemousas thumiamatōn, hai eisin ⸀hai proseuⱪai tōn hagiōn;)

RP-GNT Καὶ ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὸ βιβλίον, τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα καὶ οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσον ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου, ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάραν, καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων, αἵ εἰσιν προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων.
(Kai hote elaben to biblion, ta tessara zōia kai hoi eikosi tessares presbuteroi epeson enōpion tou arniou, eⱪontes hekastos kitharan, kai fialas ⱪrusas gemousas thumiamatōn, hai eisin proseuⱪai tōn hagiōn.)

TC-GNT Καὶ ὅτε ἔλαβε τὸ βιβλίον, τὰ [fn]τέσσαρα ζῷα καὶ οἱ [fn]εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι [fn]ἔπεσον ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου, ἔχοντες ἕκαστος [fn]κιθάραν καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων, αἵ εἰσι [fn]προσευχῶν τῶν ἁγίων.
(Kai hote elabe to biblion, ta tessara zōia kai hoi eikosi tessares presbuteroi epeson enōpion tou arniou, eⱪontes hekastos kitharan kai fialas ⱪrusas gemousas thumiamatōn, hai eisi proseuⱪōn tōn hagiōn. )

5:8 τεσσαρα 𝔐^A,C−,K [81.4%] ¦ δ΄ 𝔐^C+ [16.7%] ¦ τεσσερα WH [1.4%]

5:8 εικοσι τεσσαρες 𝔐^A+,K− [46.5%] ¦ κδ΄ 𝔐^A−,C,K+ [53%]

5:8 επεσον 𝔐^A,C,K [76.7%] ¦ επεσαν ANT CT [20.9%]

5:8 κιθαραν 𝔐^A−,K [62%] ¦ κιθαρας 𝔐^A+,C PCK TR [37.6%]

5:8 προσευχων 𝔐^K− [17%] ¦ προσευχαι 𝔐^K+ HF RP [32.1%] ¦ αι προσευχαι 𝔐^A,C ANT CT PCK TR [50.9%]

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:6–14: Many people praised the Lamb

In this section, John described the one who was worthy to open the seals. He was like a lamb that had been killed. John also described those who worshiped the lamb. Then he wrote what they said.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Every being/person praised the Lamb

Worship of the Lamb that was slain

The Lamb is praised/worshiped

5:8a

When He had taken the scroll,

When he took the scroll,
Immediately after taking it,

5:8b

the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.

the four living beings and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves in front of the Lamb.
the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders knelt and put their faces to the ground with arms outstretched before the Lamb.

5:8a–b

fell down: Here the phrase fell down refers to kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone. The elders and creatures did this deliberately in order to show humility before God and to honor him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

prostrated themselves (NJB)

threw themselves to the ground (NET)

Some languages have a different action that shows complete humility and honor to someone. If that is true in your language, you may want to use that action here. See how you translated this phrase in 3:9 or 4:10.

5:8c

Each one had a harp,

Each of them had a harp
They each had a stringed instrument

Each one: This phrase probably refers to both the living creatures and the elders.Osbourne, Kistemaker, Mounce, Hughes, and Johnson say it is both the living creatures and the elders, but don’t make it clear why they say so. Beale, Smalley, Aune, Swete, and Lenski say it is only the elders here. Some argue that the masculine form of “each” in the Greek requires it only refer to the elders since “creatures” in Greek in neuter. But in mixed groups including male participants (i.e., men and women) the masculine form is always used. The living creatures participate in worship in other places of this vision, so it seems best to include them here. Many English versions do not try to make it clear whether this word refers to both groups or just the elders. For example, the NJB says:

each one of them

Some scholars think this refers only to the elders. For example, the REB says:

Each of the elders

harp: A harp is a stringed instrument which is used to make music. There were several types of harps. Two examples are:

If harps are not known in your area, you may want to:

Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
stringed musical instrument called a harp
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
A harp is a stringed musical instrument.

5:8d

and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,

and held a golden bowl filled with incense,
and held a bowl made of gold full of dried tree sap. It burned and made a sweet-smelling smoke.

golden bowls: Here these bowls were the kind used to burn incense.

They were not the kind used for eating. They were probably shaped like bowls used in eating. But you should not refer to them as “soup dishes” or anything else referring to food.

golden: The word golden indicates that the bowls were made of gold. Gold is a rare metal of a somewhat yellow color. It was the most expensive metal known at that time. It is naturally shiny and beautiful. See how you translated this word in 1:12.

incense: The word incense refers to the dried sap of certain kinds of trees. The dried sap burns slowly to make a sweet-smelling smoke. Incense is often used as a part of worship.

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

Explain the word in your translation. For example:
special tree resin/sap called incense burned to give/release a sweet smell
sweet smelling tree resin/sap called incense
Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Incense is the dried sap of certain trees. The dried sap burns slowly to make a sweet-smelling smoke. People often burned incense as part of their worship.

5:8e

which are the prayers of the saints.

which are the prayers of the believers.
This sap and smoke represented/symbolized the prayers of God’s holy people.

which are the prayers of the saints: This clause tells the reader more about the bowls full of incense. The clause indicates that the incense in each bowl is a symbol for the prayers of the saints.Beale (pages 357–358) explains well why only the incense represents the prayers. Also see Revelation 8:3–4.

Be sure to translate this in such a way that it is clear that John is informing his readers what these bowls represent. He is not distinguishing them from other bowls by saying in what way they differ. If it would be helpful in your language, translate these words so that they tell more about the incense. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

The incense in the bowls was the prayers of the saints.

In some languages it will be necessary to indicate explicitly that the incense is a symbol. For example:

which are symbolically the prayers of the saints

The incense represents the prayers of the saints

the saints: The Greek word that the BSB translates as saints means “holy ones.” The word does not refer to a small group of believers who were extremely godly. Here the word refers to all believers. For example:

God’s people (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-symaction

ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον

fell before

Be sure that it is clear in your translation that the living creatures and elders did not fall down accidentally. They bowed down in front of the Lamb as a gesture to honor him. Alternate translation: [bowed down respectfully to]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἔχοντες ἕκαστος

having each

It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. This could mean: (1) that each of the elders had a harp and golden bowls of incense. Alternate translation: [Each of the elders had] (2) that each of the living creatures and elders had a harp and golden bowls of incense. Alternate translation: [Each of the living creatures and elders had]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

αἵ εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων

which (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἔλαβεν τό βιβλίον τά τέσσαρα ζῷα καί οἱ εἴκοσι τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι ἔπεσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Ἀρνίου ἔχοντες ἕκαστος κιθάραν καί φιάλας χρυσᾶς γεμούσας θυμιαμάτων αἵ εἰσίν αἱ προσευχαί τῶν ἁγίων)

When John says that these golden bowls are the prayers of the saints, he likely means by association that the incense in the bowls represents the prayers, since prayers ascend to God in heaven similarly to the way that incense rises through the air and pleasantly attracts attention. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate this by using a singular verb that would refer to the incense rather than a plural verb that would refer to the bowls. Alternate translation: [which is the prayers of the saints]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τῶν ἁγίων

˱of˲_the holy_‹ones›

As the General Introduction to Revelation discusses, John often uses the term saints to describe people who believe in Jesus and obey him faithfully. John uses the term by association with the way these people are set apart as holy for God. Your language may have a term or expression of its own that would convey this meaning that you could use throughout the book. You could also use plain language. Alternate translation: [of the disciples of Jesus] or [of believers in Jesus]