1:10a
On the Lord’s day: This phrase refers to the first day of the week, the day of worship for believers. Believers met on Sundays to worship because that was the day on which Jesus rose from the dead.
In some languages a literal translation would not refer to the weekly day of worship. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:
On ⌊a Sunday⌋ the day for worshiping the Lord
-or-
On the day of the week that we worship the Lord
• Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. For example:
“The Lord’s Day” refers to the weekly worship day.
I was in the Spirit: In English Bibles, the titles and names of God begin with an uppercase (capital) letter. But ancient Greek writers used only one style of letters. So the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Spirit can refer to either the human spirit or God’s Spirit. There are several ways to interpret it. The main interpretations are:
(1) It indicates that John was connected to the Holy Spirit in some way that was different from the usual experience of the Holy Spirit. For example:
the Spirit came upon me (Revised English Bible)
(2) It indicates that John entered a trance-like state and experienced things in his own spirit. For example:
I was in ecstasy (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Other ways to translate this phrase are:
I came to be in the Spirit
-or-
I came under the Spirit’s power (God’s Word)
-or-
I was in strong relationship with the Spirit
I was: The verb here is the same Greek verb as in 1:9d. In 1:9d John physically “came to be” on the island of Patmos. Here in 1:10a, he spiritually “came to be” in the Spirit. John did not plan to be in the Spirit. It happened because God made it happen.
The verb does not indicate or imply being forced. But the phrase “in the Spirit” implies that the Holy Spirit began a closer connection to John’s spirit. See examples above.
in the Spirit: As interpretation (1) above indicates, John was connected to the Holy Spirit in a way that was different from the usual experience of the Holy Spirit. It does not say what circumstance John was in. It is not known if he was worshiping with others or worshiping on his own or praying or if he was in some other situation when John experienced the Holy Spirit in this way.
1:10b
a loud voice like a trumpet: This phrase does not explain how the loud voice was like a trumpet. It may have been that it was loud and clear, like a trumpet call. If you need to say how it was like a trumpet, you may want to make that explicit. For example:
a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet (Contemporary English Version)
a trumpet: The word trumpet refers to a musical instrument that was often used to alert people to danger. It was also used to announce important messages. At that time trumpets were made from metal or from animal horns. A metal trumpet was a narrow tube probably about half a meter (18 inches) long. It had a mouthpiece at one end and a wide opening at the other end. People blew into it to produce a loud sound.
The particular kind of trumpet is not important here. In some languages people use trumpets made of animal horns, shells, bamboo, or other materials. If that is true in your language, you may want to use the word for that kind of trumpet here.
Some languages do not have a word for trumpet. If that is true in your language, you can:
• Use a word for another loud instrument, preferably one that someone blows into.
• Use a method of announcing in your area.
• Use the major language word.
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