1:13a
among: This word indicates that the lampstands were positioned on either side of Jesus. Some lampstands may have been in front of Jesus and some may have been behind him. It is implied that Jesus was standing. For example:
⌊standing⌋ in the middle/midst of
One like the Son of Man: The phrase the Son of Man is based on the Hebrew idiom that refers to someone who has the characteristics of a man. So here it means “a human being.” John probably implies a connection to Daniel 7:13. There, Daniel saw someone who looked like a person (rather than an angel or other kind of being) coming on the clouds. Daniel said he was “like a son of man.” This phrase probably implies three things:
(a) This person was the Christ. This whole phrase is similar to the phrase in Daniel 7:13. Many Jews in Jesus’ time understood that Daniel 7:13–14 described the Christ. John probably wanted to remind his readers of those verses in Daniel.
(b) This person was Jesus. The phrase the Son of Man is similar to the phrase “the Son of Man” that Jesus often used for himself.
(c) This person looked like a human being. In Hebrew the phrase Son of means “someone having the characteristics of.” John saw a being who looked like a person, but with the differences described in 1:14–16.
Some ways to translate this phrase are:
• Translate literally. You may want to translate literally if you translated “the Son of Man” literally in the Gospels. You may then want to explain the meaning of the phrase in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The saying “someone like a son of man” would remind believers of those words in Daniel 7:13–14. This saying would also remind them of Jesus’ title for himself: “the Son of Man.”
Keep the word Man general rather than referring to an unknown man; that is, do not say or imply “a son of a man” or “a son of the man.”
Note: Some languages do not have the word “the” or “a,” but the meaning is understood from context. But without a “the” or “a,” there is no clear way to translate the difference between “the Son of Man” and “a son of man.” If that is true in your language, you should translate as indicated below.
• Translate according to meaning (c) above. Some examples are:
there was what looked like a human being (Good News Translation)
-or-
a figure like a man (Revised English Bible)
You may want to include a footnote to explain the literal words. An example footnote is:
Literally: “someone like a son of man.” This saying would remind believers of those words in Daniel 7:13–14. This saying would also remind them of Jesus’ title for himself: “the Son of Man.” But here John is only indicating that he saw someone who looked somewhat like a human being, and this person’s appearance in 1:13–16 and his words in 1:17–20 indicate that he is Jesus.
If you do not have “the” and “a” in your language, you may want a different footnote. For example:
Literally: “someone like son of man.” This saying is a Hebrew idiom that means “someone who looks like a human being.” It would remind believers of those words in Daniel 7:13–14. Jesus used these words as a title for himself: “the Son of Man.” But here John is only indicating that he saw someone who looked somewhat like a human being, and this person’s appearance in 1:13–16 and his words in 1:17–20 indicate that he is Jesus.
Note: You should not translate this phrase as “someone like the Son of Man.” Translating that way indicates that the person whom John saw was not Jesus but someone like him. But 1:18 shows that this phrase does refer to Jesus.
like the Son of Man: This phrase is a quote from Daniel 7:13. If you usually footnote the location of quotes from the Old Testament, you may want to do so here.
1:13b
dressed in: This phrase indicates that Jesus was wearing the robe. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
clothed with (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
wearing (Good News Translation)
a long robe: This phrase refers to a long loose garment which covers the body from the shoulders down to the feet. A robe also has loose sleeves covering the arms.
In some languages people are not familiar with robes. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
long ⌊flowing⌋ clothes
-or-
⌊one-piece⌋ full-length clothes
• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
A robe is a long, loose garment which covers the body from the shoulders down to the feet. A robe also has loose sleeves covering the arms.
1:13c
a golden sash around His chest: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sash refers to a wrapping that was usually worn around the waist. But the phrase His chest indicates that the sash went around Jesus’ body at chest height.
The sash was made of gold. It was probably a cloth made of gold thread. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
he wore a wide golden belt around his chest (NET Bible)
-or-
a gold band around his chest (Good News Translation)
-or-
a gold cloth was wrapped around his chest (Contemporary English Version)
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