And behold, I am coming soon: see 3.11; for behold see 1.7. Revised Standard Version prints this statement as part of the direct speech beginning in verse 6. This means that Revised Standard Version probably takes the speaker in verse 6 to be Jesus, not the angel, for it is Jesus who promises to come soon (see verses 12, 20). Some translations are like Revised Standard Version; it is better, however, to take the speaker in verse 6 as the angel, and Jesus as the speaker in verse 7a. New Revised Standard Version has closing quotation marks at the end of verse 6 and opening quotation marks at the beginning of verse 7. This indicates two different speakers, but in neither case does New Revised Standard Version specify who is the speaker. Bible en français courant and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, like Good News Translation, identify the speaker here as Jesus.

A translation like Good News Translation, that translates “Listen!” (instead of Revised Standard Version‘s outmoded behold), will have a problem if, like Portuguese, Spanish, French, and other languages, there are separate forms for the singular and the plural of the verb. If a translation chooses to say “Listen” or “Pay attention,” or something similar, and has to be specific as to whether the command is in the singular or the plural form, it is better to use the plural (as Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje does), since the words are not addressed solely to John but to all believers, to all the readers (and hearers) of this book. In some languages it will be necessary to say “All of you must listen” or “Listen, all of you!”

Blessed: see 1.3.

He who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book: see 1.3. The reference to this book seems to imply that it is John himself who says this. So it is better to follow Revised Standard Version (and New Revised Standard Version) and make verse 7b a separate paragraph. For the verb “to keep,” meaning “to obey,” see 1.3; 3.8; 12.17; 14.12. The prophecy of this book may also be expressed as “the words of this book that tell about present and future events” or “what this book tells will happen now and later (or, in the future).”

To repeat what has been said about the speakers in verses 6-7: in verse 6a the speaker is the angel; in verse 6b the speaker may be John, but this is not certain; in verse 7a Jesus speaks; in verse 7b the writer of the book is the speaker.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Jesus says, “You [plural] must listen! I am coming soon.”

Or:

• Happy are those people who obey all the things that are said in this book about what will happen now and later.

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 .