Revelation 1:12-16

1:12 I ¹  turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, ²  and when I did so, ³  I saw seven golden lampstands, 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. ⁴  He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt ⁵  around his chest. 1:14 His ⁶  head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, ⁷  and his eyes were like a fiery ⁸  flame. 1:15 His feet were like polished bronze ⁹  refined ¹⁰  in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar ¹¹  of many waters. 1:16 He held ¹²  seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His ¹³  face shone like the sun shining at full strength.

[1:12]  ¹ tn Throughout the translation John’s use of καί (kai) often reflects the varied usage of the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav). A clause which καί introduces has been translated in terms of its semantic relationship to the clause that preceded it. If the καί seemed redundant, however, it was left untranslated; that is the case in this verse.

[1:12]  ² tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[1:12]  ³ tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrefw) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Or “a wide golden sash,” but this would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[1:14]  ⁷ tn The clause, “even as white as snow” seems to heighten the preceding clause and is so understood in this ascensive sense (“even”) in the translation.

[1:14]  ⁸ tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[1:15]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears nowhere else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 2:18), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 2:18 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[1:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “that has been heated in a furnace until it glows.”

[1:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “sound,” but the idea is closer to the roar of a waterfall or rapids.

[1:16]  ¹² tn Grk “and having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but because contemporary English style employs much shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”

[1:16]  ¹³ tn This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.