cloud / sky

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)

See also heaven and sky.

complete verse (Revelation 14:16)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 14:16:

  • Uma: “From there the person sitting on top of the clouds really did swing his sickle and he harvested the contents of the world.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle in the world and harvested all.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then the one sitting on the cloud used his sickle, and he reaped the earth.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So the one seated on the cloud went and sickled and the harvest was finished.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore without anything else, he swung/waved that sickle which he was holding. All the harvest here in the world was cut down by him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “He who sat on the cloud cut the grain there was on earth. All was gathered up.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 14:16

He who sat upon the cloud: the text does not say whether he got off the cloud in order to reap. A translation should not say or imply that he did.

Swung his sickle on the earth: this is a natural way in English to speak of working with a sickle. In some languages it may be more natural to say “cut with his sickle,” or “reaped with his sickle,” or “worked with his sickle.”

The earth was reaped: that is, the harvest on earth was reaped; the harvest is the human race. However, translators should not say this explicitly. An alternative translation model is “collected (or, gathered) the harvest.”

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 .