complete verse (Revelation 22:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 22:14:

  • Uma: “Fortunate are the people who wash their clothes until they are clean, for they are the ones who are allowed to eat the fruit of the tree of life. They will be allowed to enter into the village through its doors.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Happy are the people who wash their clothes so that they are very clean, that means that their livers are clean/holy. Because they will be given authority to enter the doors of that city. And they will also be given authority to eat the fruit of the tree that gives life.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “How happy all those are who wash their clothes to make them white, which is to say, they let their sins be removed, because if they do that they will be given the right to eat the fruit of the tree which gives life and to enter into the gates of the city.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The people who launder their clothes are fortunate, because they have authority to enter the entrance of the city and to eat the fruit of the tree which gives life.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They can really be happy who are always making their clothes clean, which means, they repent of each sin so that it can be removed. For they will be given authority/the-right to enter into this city and to eat the fruit of this tree which gives life.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The good fortune has been met by the person who will wash his clothing so that it will always be white. Because those are the persons who will be given the right to eat the fruits of the tree which gives new life. And they will be given the right to enter into the city.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 22:14

Blessed: see 1.3.

Those who wash their robes: see 7.14. Here nothing is said about “in the blood of the Lamb,” as in 7.14. It is implied, of course, that this washing makes the robes clean, and this may be expressly stated, “those who wash their robes clean” (Good News Translation). For robes see 6.11.

As the RSV footnote indicates, instead of who wash their robes, some Greek manuscripts have “who do his commandments” (see 12.17; 14.12). The text translated by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation is to be preferred.

That: this appears to indicate purpose; and by placing a comma after robes, Revised Standard Version seems to connect that with Blessed. It is possible to take the Greek conjunction translated that to express purpose and connect it with the verbal phrase wash their robes: “those who wash their robes in order to….” But it seems better to take the conjunction as final, indicating result: “and as a result they have….” So New Revised Standard Version “so that they will have the right….”

Have the right to the tree of life: that is, have the right to eat the fruit of the tree (see 22.2).

Enter the city by the gates: this is somewhat strange, for it seems to imply that others will have to enter by some other way. The force of this statement may be what would be expressed in English by “the right to enter the city freely,” “full and free access to the city.” Since the tree of life is inside the city, it may be desirable to reverse the two actions as follows: “And so they will have the right to go through the gates into the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.”

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 .