All who dwell on earth: the same expression is used in 3.10; 6.10; 8.13; 11.10.

Every one whose name has not been written: it may be better to imitate Good News Translation and refer to those whose names had been written: “All the people in the world will worship him, except those whose names had been written….” Or it may be better to have two complete sentences: “Almost everyone will worship the beast. But some will not worship him; those who have their names written … will not worship him.”

Not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain: for the book of life see 3.5; for the Lamb that was slain, see 5.6, 9.

In Greek the phrase “from the foundation of the earth” comes at the end of the verse, immediately following the Lamb that was slain. Most translations, relying in part on 17.8, connect “from the foundation of the earth” with the verbal phrase been written. See Good News Translation “except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living.” Some, however, connect it with “the Lamb that was slain”: Phillips, New International Version, and Revised English Bible (a change from New English Bible); and this understanding of the verse is supported by some commentators (for example, Sweet, Caird) who point out that such a statement is not without parallel in other New Testament passages (see especially 1 Peter 1.19-20). A translator must decide which interpretation to follow; it may be possible to have one in the text and the other one in a footnote. All in all, it seems preferable to go along with Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and others.

The various items of information should be properly related to one another in terms of the development of the narrative. Something like the following may serve as a model for this verse:

• Everyone on earth will worship him, except those whose names were written in the book of the living before the world was created. That book belongs to the Lamb who was killed.

Or:

• … whose names were recorded in the book in which God has written down before the world was created the names of those who really have life. That book belongs to the Lamb whom people killed.

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 .