Section 14:14–20

The person on the cloud harvested the earth

In this section, John saw one “like a son of man” seated on a white cloud. This person gathered the people of the earth just as someone harvests grain. Then an angel gathered the grapes of the earth, and squeezed the juice out. The juice represents God’s anger.

Other examples for this section heading are:

The harvest of the earth
-or-
The Earth Is Harvested (New Century Version)
-or-
The person on a cloud gathered the people of the earth

Paragraph 14:14–16

14:14a

And I looked: John just finished talking about the future for believers. This clause indicates that he saw a new part of the vision. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Once again I looked (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
Now in my vision I saw (New Jerusalem Bible)

See how you translated this in 14:1. But note that John used this phrase again here just fourteen verses later.

and saw a white cloud: The Greek words are literally “and look.” The word “look” emphasizes or calls attention to the words that follow. It also probably indicates surprise or suddenness. The word “look” is not a command to look at something. Other ways to translate the Greek phrase are:

indeed/hey, a white cloud
-or-
and look, a white cloud
-or-
suddenly/unexpectedly I saw a white cloud

See how you translated this phrase in 14:1.

14:14b

and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man: These words are similar to the words in Daniel 7:13. In that verse, Daniel saw in a vision “one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.” Many people in Jesus’ day understood that to be a vision of the Christ.

In some languages people are not familiar with Daniel 7:13. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in a footnote. For example:

These words are similar to the prophecy in Daniel 7:13 about the Christ. The words here were written to remind people of the prophecy in Daniel 7:13.

like the Son of Man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Man can mean “male,” “person,” or “mankind.” John probably implied that he was referring to Jesus here, but he only did so indirectly. The meaning here is probably the same as in 1:13. See how you translated the same phrase there.

14:14c

with a golden crown: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crown refers to the headpiece that kings wear. It is a symbol of their authority. See how you translated a similar phrase in 4:4.

golden: The word gold refers to a shiny, yellow metal that is very valuable. In some languages people are not familiar with gold. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain the meaning in your translation:

⌊expensive⌋ gold
-or-

⌊valuable⌋ metal/stones called gold

See how you translated this word in 3:18 or 4:4.

sickle: This word refers to a long, curved knife with a short handle. It is used for harvesting grain crops. People swing the sickle near the ground to cut the stalks of grain. At that time they used both the stalks and the grain.

In some languages people are not familiar with a sickle. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Use the name of a tool that is used in your area for harvesting grain crops.

• Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:

grain-harvesting tool
-or-
tool for harvesting grain/wheat

• 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 sickle is a long, curved knife with a short handle. It is used for harvesting grain crops.

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