1:18 1 Come, let’s consider your options,” 2 says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become 3 white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become 4 white like wool. 5
7:13 Then 9 one of the elders asked 10 me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So 11 I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” 12 Then 13 he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They 14 have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!
1 sn The Lord concludes his case against Israel by offering them the opportunity to be forgiven and by setting before them the alternatives of renewed blessing (as a reward for repentance) and final judgment (as punishment for persistence in sin).
2 tn Traditionally, “let us reason together,” but the context suggests a judicial nuance. The Lord is giving the nation its options for the future.
3 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
4 tn The imperfects must be translated as modal (indicating capability or possibility) to bring out the conditional nature of the offer. This purification will only occur if the people repent and change their ways.
5 tn Heb “though your sins are like red, they will become white like snow; though they are red like scarlet, they will be like wool.” The point is not that the sins will be covered up, though still retained. The metaphorical language must be allowed some flexibility and should not be pressed into a rigid literalistic mold. The people’s sins will be removed and replaced by ethical purity. The sins that are now as obvious as the color red will be washed away and the ones who are sinful will be transformed.
6 tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.
7 tn The use of the pronoun αὐτός (autos) is intensive and focuses attention on Christ as the one who has made the church glorious.
8 tn Grk “but in order that it may be holy and blameless.”
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
10 tn Grk “spoke” or “declared to,” but in the context “asked” reads more naturally in English.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.
12 tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
14 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.