When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead: John’s reaction is like those of others in the Bible who were suddenly confronted by the presence of the Almighty; see Ezek 1.28; Dan 8.17; 10.9; Matt 17.6; Acts 26.14. The verb fell here does not mean that he collapsed to the ground in a dead faint, but that he prostrated himself at the feet of the glorified Christ, with forehead and body touching the ground in an act of worship and reverence, and lay there as though he were dead. Other ways of expressing fell are “bowed down low to the ground” or “spread myself flat on the ground.” At his feet in certain languages will be rendered as “near his feet,” “by his feet,” or even “in front of his feet” or “in front of him.”

As though dead may also be expressed as “without moving,” “as if I was dead,” or “completely rigid like a person who has died.”

Both with his gesture (he laid his right hand upon me) and with his words (Fear not), the resurrected and glorified Christ reassures John, commissions him to write (verse 19), and explains the meaning of the seven stars and the seven lampstands (verse 20). In some languages the clause he laid his right hand upon me will be rendered as “he stretched out his right hand and placed it on me.”

Fear not will often be expressed as “stop being afraid.” Fear is rendered idiomatically in many languages; for example, “heart (or, liver) trembles,” “liver shivers,” “heart (or, liver) falls,” or even “his heart came outside” (Chewa).

I am the first and the last: the meaning is the same as “I am the Alpha and the Omega” of verse 8.

The living one: this is also a divine title, and a translation may wish to make this explicit. It is used by the resurrected Christ, who had been raised from death and now lives forever. This phrase can also be expressed as “the one who has life” or “the one who gives life.”

I died, and behold I am alive for evermore: the meaning of the first statement, in this context, is better expressed by Good News Translation “I was dead” (also New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

Behold: this translates an interjection that calls attention to what follows (see 1.7); it occurs twenty-six times in this book. It is not represented by a verbal equivalent in various translations (thus Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Revised English Bible). New Revised Standard Version has “and see,” which at least is not obsolete, as behold is. A translator must decide if a distinct word is necessary in order to emphasize what follows. I am alive for evermore can also be rendered as “I have life that never ends.” For the translation of the phrase for evermore, see the comments on 1.6, where the Greek for “for ever and ever” is the same expression as for evermore in this verse.

I have the keys of Death and Hades: keys are the symbol of authority, and by having been raised from death, the glorified Christ has the power over death and the world of the dead; he has the power to leave people in death or to open the gates of Hades (see Isa 38.10; Matt 16.18 [RSV footnote]) and let its inhabitants leave. This, of course, is a figure for the power to bring the dead to life. In some languages it will be possible to keep the symbol keys and say, for example, “I have the keys that give me the power to open the place where dead people are (or, the land of the dead) and bring them to life again.” In cultures where keys do not exist, one may say “the things that open or close doors” or “the power to open doors.” Death: in languages where one cannot talk about “power over death,” one may say “power to raise people from death” or “power to cause dead people to be alive again.” Hades (also 6.8; 20.13, 14) is the Greek equivalent of Sheol, the Hebrew word for the world of the dead, which was sometimes pictured as an underground city, whose locked gates prevented the dead from leaving. It should not be translated “hell,” that is, the place of punishment, which in the New Testament is called “Gehenna.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has joined the two terms, “I have the keys of the kingdom of death,” which a translation may choose to imitate.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• I am the one who is the source of (or, who gives) life. I was dead, but now I am alive for all time to come. I have the keys that give me the power to open or close the place where dead people are (or, the land of the dead) and bring them to life again.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .