The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “cloud” or “sky” in most English translations is translated in Mwera with only one term: liunde. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
with a loud voice
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “with a loud voice” in English is translated in Low German idiomatically as luuthals or “loud-throated” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).
It is also used in Acts 19:28 for krazó (κράζω).
angel
The Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:
- Pintupi-Luritja: ngaṉka ngurrara: “one who belongs in the sky” (source: Ken Hansen quoted in Steven 1984a, p. 116.)
- Tetela, Kpelle, Balinese, and Mandarin Chinese: “heavenly messenger”
- Shilluk / Igede: “spirit messenger”
- Mashco Piro: “messenger of God”
- Batak Toba: “envoy, messenger”
- Navajo: “holy servant” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961; Igede: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
- Central Mazahua: “God’s worker” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
- Saramaccan: basia u Masa Gaangadu köndë or “messenger from God’s country” (source: Jabini 2015, p. 86)
- Mairasi: atatnyev nyaa or “sent-one” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Shipibo-Conibo: “word bringer” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
- Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
- Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
- Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
- Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)
See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .
synagogue, temple (inner), temple (outer)
In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
- Navajo: “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
- Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
- Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
- Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
- Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
- Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans don’t make that distinction include:
- Mandarin Chinese: “聖殿 Shèng diàn” (“holy palace”)
- Loma: “the holy place”
- Pular: “the sacred house” (source for this and the one above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Zarma: “God’s compound”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “big church of the Jews”
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “big house on top (i.e. most important)”
- Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- Mairasi: Janav Enggwarjer Weso: “Great Above One’s (God’s) House” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Noongar: Maya-maya-Kooranyi: “Sacred House” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Huehuetla Tepehua: “the big church of the Israelites”
- Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
- Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
- Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog)
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
- Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
- Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
- Navajo: “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
See also this devotion on YouVersion .
complete verse (Revelation 14:15)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 14:15:
- Uma: “After that, there was also another angel appeared from the Worship House. He called with a loud/big voice to the person who sat on top of the clouds, he said: ‘Swing your sickle and harvest. Because it is the time to harvest, the contents of the world are ripe.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Then I saw another/a different angel coming out of the prayer-house and he called loudly to the one sitting on the cloud. He said, ‘Use your sickle and harvest now because the season for harvesting on the earth has come. Because the world is like an overripe field already.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then there was another angel who came out of the church in heaven. He spoke loudly to the one sitting on the cloud, he said, ‘Use your sickle now because it is now time to harvest for the earth is ripe!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Then an angel came-out of the temple and said loudly to the one seated on the cloud, ‘Take your (sing.) sickle to go harvest, because it is harvest-time now. What is to-be-harvested is already ripe which are the collective-people on the earth.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “And then there was another angel who was sent who came out from the Temple in heaven. He called to that one riding on the cloud, saying, ‘Go ahead, use that sickle of yours. Cut down now, for the harvest in the world is ripe now.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “There where the church in heaven was, there came out an angel who loudly called to the one sitting on the cloud. He said: ‘Concerning the grain there is on earth, it is now ripe. The time has come to cut it,’ he said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Translation commentary on Revelation 14:15
Another angel: this one is in addition to the three angels of verses 6, 8, 9. It should be quite clear in translation that the phrase another angel does not imply that “the one like a son of man” is also an angel.
The temple: this is the temple in heaven, as in verse 17, below. It will be helpful in many languages to make this information explicit and say “the temple in heaven,” as this is the first mention of this temple since 11.19.
Calling with a loud voice: this angel is announcing God’s command to the Messiah. As the New Testament makes clear, only God knows the time of the final Judgment (see Mark 13.32). In certain languages translators will prefer to say “and shouted” or similar language.
Put in your sickle, and reap: the most natural way of saying this may be “Start working with your sickle and reap,” “Start reaping with your sickle,” or “Take your sickle and begin to cut.”
The harvest of the earth is fully ripe: there may be some trouble in making the meaning of this clear. Here the earth stands for humanity, so that “the earth” itself is the harvest. The translation should try to keep the figure of reaping the harvest with a sickle. However, if the word for reap in a language means literally to “cut and collect” or “gather” crops, alternative ways of translating the command would be “Get to work with your sickle! The harvest on earth is now completely ripe, and the time has come to reap the harvest” or “Start cutting with your sickle (or, knife, or machete for reaping). What is to be gathered on the earth is now ripe (or, ready), and it is now the time to gather them.”
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 .
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