Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 1:13:
Uma: “In the midst of those lampstands, I saw a person who looked like the Child of Mankind. His clothes were a long garment coming to his feet and tied at the chest with a rope of gold.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And there in the middle of those lampstands, there was one standing looking like a human. His robe reached to his feet and there was (something) tied around his chest (that was of) gold.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And in the midst of the lamps there was a person who looked like the older sibling of mankind. His shirt was long and He was belted with gold.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “In the middle of them, there was one whose appearance was like a person dressed in a long-robe (understood as being ankle-length). There was also gold that was belted around his chest.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And standing right in the middle of those lamps was like the One From Heaven Born of Man/human, dressed in what reached down to the top of his feet and at his chest there was a gold sash wrapped around.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “There where these seven candle holders were, I saw in the midst of them a man. He was wearing clothing which reached to his feet. There at his chest it was all of gold that encircled him.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.
In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
If the sentence seems too long and unwieldy, a translation can easily place a full stop at the end of verse 12 and begin a new sentence in verse 13 (Bible en français courant, Revised English Bible, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).
In the midst of the lampstands: this can be stated “among the lampstands,” “standing among them,” or “in the middle of them.” They may have been arranged in a row or in a circle, and in certain languages this will have to be made explicit. If the translator determines that the lampstands were in a circle, one may say “standing with the lampstands in a circle around him.” However, if it is decided that the lampstands were in a row, one may say, for example, “Standing in the middle of the row of lampstands.”
One like a son of man: what John sees is a figure that appears to be a human being. From what follows, the reader knows that this one is the glorified Christ. The phrase a son of man reflects Dan 7.13, which RSV translates “there came one like a son of man.” The title that in the Gospels Jesus uses of himself, “the Son of Man,” is also obviously related to Dan 7.13, but it does not seem likely that here the author means “one like the Son of Man” (as New Revised Standard Version has it). In English, at least, “a son of man” (New International Version, New American Bible, Revised), or “a Son of man” (New Jerusalem Bible), or even “a Son of Man” (Phillips) means nothing. Many translations are like Good News Translation: “a figure like a man” (Barclay), “a being like a man” (An American Translation), “One who resembled a human being” (Moffatt), “someone with a human appearance” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), “a being that looked like a man” (Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje), “a figure like a man” (Revised English Bible). It is recommended that translations follow one of these renderings.
Clothed with a long robe: this is a single piece of clothing that reaches to the feet, a vestment indicating dignity and rank. In some languages one must say “a long cloth outer garment.”
A golden girdle round his breast: this is better translated by New Revised Standard Version “a golden sash across his chest.” It is impossible to determine what this “sash” or “band” (Good News Translation) was made of; perhaps linen, with the use of much gold thread, or else a gold metal band. It served to keep the robe in place. New Revised Standard Version “a golden sash across his chest” gives the picture of a sash coming down diagonally from one shoulder to the waist. Whatever it was, it was definitely not a belt around the waist (as New Jerusalem Bible has it). If in a certain language one must state whether the sash was gold-colored or was actually made out of gold, it should be translated clearly one way or the other; for example, “a gold-colored band (or, sash)” or “a sash made of (the metal) gold.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is the following:
• A being who looked like a man was standing in the middle of the lampstands. He was wearing a robe (or, a long cloth outer garment) that reached to his feet, and a gold-colored sash across his chest.
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 .
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)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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