4Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.
The Greek that is translated into English versions as “throne” is translated into Naro as ntcõó-q’oo: “he will rule.” The figure of the “throne” cannot be translated in the egalitarian Naro culture, so the idea had to be expressed more explicitly. (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
In other languages it is translated as “stool/seat of the king” (Marathi), “seat of commanding/chieftainship” (Highland Totonac, Kituba), “seat of the Supreme one (lit. of-him-who-has-the umbrella)” (Toraja-Sa’dan — the umbrella being a well-known symbol of power in various parts of South and South-East Asia), “glorious place to sit” (Ekari) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “where God sits and rules” (Estado de México Otomi), “where God reigns” (Central Mazahua) (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.), or “bed of kingship” (Kafa) (source: Loren Bliese).
The Greek that is translated as “elder” in most English versions (“presbyter” in The Orthodox New Testament, 2000) is translated as “Old-Man Leader” in Eastern Highland Otomi (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22) and in Bacama as mi kpan-kpani vɨnə hiutə: “big/old person of house of prayer” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).
Other translations include:
“the people who command among the people of Jesus” in Lalana Chinantec
“the old men who watched over the believers” in Morelos Nahuatl
“the ones guarding the brethren” in Isthmus Mixe (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 4:4:
Uma: “Around that Seat there were twenty-four other chairs. Those chairs were sat in by twenty-four elders [term used of old people, parents, or village elders] who were dressed in white and wearing gold hats.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Surrounding that throne there were twenty four other thrones and twenty four elders were sitting there dressed in white and each one had a golden crown on his head.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There were also there twenty-four seats around the seat of the one ruling. And there were twenty-four elders. Their clothing was white and there were crowns of gold in their heads.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Surrounding the throne, there were also twenty four similar (lit. again) thrones on-which-were-seated twenty four leaders. They were dressed in white and crowned with gold.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “There were twenty four seats, like that king’s seat, which were all around that seat. Each was being sat on by an elder. Their clothes were white and each had a gold crown on his head.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “And it was in the midst of twenty-four chairs where he sat. Each of those chairs had one person sitting in it. all wore white clothing. On their heads, each one, there was a crown of gold.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Round the throne were twenty-four thrones: normal English usage requires “… twenty-four other thrones” (Good News Translation, New International Version; also Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). See 1.4 for comments on the translation of throne.
Twenty-four elders: the Greek word means, generally, “older (person).” In a specific sense the word indicates not only advanced age but also the authority and prestige that such a person has. The problem in translation is that of finding a term that fits this context; in English elders are usually certain church officers. A further complication is that the specific “(older) men” or “(older) people” should not be used; these are not human but angelic beings. In many languages it will be natural to translate elders as “important elderly leaders” or “elderly leaders with great prestige.” In languages such as these a distinction can also be made between the thrones that these elders sat on and the other throne in the middle. There is no general agreement on the significance of the number twenty-four. One may say “In a circle around the high chief’s chair were twenty-four lesser chiefs’ chairs.”
White garments: these may indicate purity, or victory, or immortality (see 3.5).
Golden crowns: these are not wreaths of victory, as in 2.10, but the kind of crowns that kings wear. In certain languages crowns in this context will be rendered as “king’s hat” or “high chief’s hat.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• In a circle around that throne (or, high chief’s chair) stood twenty-four other thrones (or, lesser chiefs’ chairs). Twenty-four important elderly leaders were sitting on these chairs. They wore white clothes and chiefs’ hats (or, crowns) on their heads.
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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