endurance

The Greek that is translated in English as “endurance” (or “patience”or “perseverance”) is translated in Tzotzil as “(good) strength of heart(s).” (Source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)

In Isthmus Zapotec it is translated as “learning not to lose patience.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

complete verse (Revelation 2:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 2:3:

  • Uma: “You endure, suffering hardship because of your belief in me, and you are not disheartened from following me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You really persevere enduring difficulties because of me and your trust in me is really steadfast.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I know that you endure hardship because of your faith in Me, and in spite of this you are not thinking that you will abandon your fulfilling My commands.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I know that you have been-enduring the hardship-you -have-been-undergoing because of me, and you have persevered in believing without giving-up.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I also know that you are steadfast in believing/obeying and you endure with a good mind/inner-being when you are persecuted because of your believing in me. You don’t lose-patience.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “You endure whatever suffering you go through. And some are working hard for me, without their hearts turning back.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 2:3

I know you are enduring patiently: the Greek text does not have I know at the beginning of the verse (see Good News Translation), but a translation may choose to include it for a more natural transition. This statement repeats what was said in verse 2.

And bearing up for my name’s sake: here the same verb “to bear” used in verse 2 appears, but in a different sense; it is practically synonymous with enduring patiently. Here “to bear up” implies suffering of some sort; so Bible en français courant “you have suffered,” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje “you have suffered greatly.”

For my name’s sake: as in many other places in the Bible, “name” stands for the person, and here the person is Christ. They are suffering for Christ’s sake, that is, they are suffering because they are determined to be faithful Christians. This indicates persecution, either the occasional kind inflicted by a pagan society, or else the official organized persecution started by the authorities.

And you have not grown weary: they had not given up, they had not renounced their faith. It is to be noticed that the Greek verb here is related to the noun “toil” of verse 2, implying here “not to tire of toil,” meaning “haven’t tired of following me.” Other ways of translating this clause are “and you have never given up following me” or “and your hearts have always remained strong as you follow me.”

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 .