Paragraph 2:11
2:11a
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: Translate this saying as you did in 2:7.
2:11b
The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
the second death will not be able to hurt/harm those who overcome
The one who overcomes: The phrase The one who overcomes is emphasized in the Greek by being first in the clause. If you have a natural way in your language to emphasize this phrase, you may want to do so. For example:
As for he who conquers, he
-or-
Regarding those who win the victory, they
overcomes: The word overcomes means “triumphs” or “obtains/wins victory.” Here the word refers to having success over sin, evil, and pressure to turn away from Jesus. He continues believing and following Jesus even though he might be killed for it. See how you translated a similar phrase (“To the one who overcomes”) in 2:7.
not be harmed by the second death: This is a figure of speech that indicates that believers will not die the second death. In some languages it is not natural to say that death can harm or hurt someone. Instead, it is more natural to:
• Use a different word. For example:
not be touched by the second death
-or-
not be affected by the second death
• Translate the noun death as a verb. For example:
not die the second time
the second death: This phrase refers to God punishing people forever after they have died physically. The first death is physical death. The second death is being thrown into the lake of fire (20:10, 14–15).
In some languages people will not understand the figurative meaning of the phrase the second death. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain its meaning in your translation. For example:
the second death, ⌊namely, eternal punishment⌋
• Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:
“The second death” refers to being thrown into the lake of fire (20:10,14–15).
second: The word second refers to an item in a list that is counted as two, which is after the item counted as one. Some languages use a phrase for the meaning of the word second. Other ways to translate this word are:
the one after the first
-or-
the other
-or-
the next one
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