complete verse (Revelation 1:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 1:15:

  • Uma: “His feet sparkled/glistened, like brass that was just polished and that was glowing in a fire. His voice roared like the sound of big water.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “His feet shone/were-brilliant like brass that has been put in the fire and polished. His voice was like the sound of a cataract of a great water/river.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for His feet, they were like brass which had been heated and filed. And as for His voice, it seemed to be like the sound of the flowing of very many waters.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “His feet/lower-legs, they were dazzling like pure copper that has been refined (lit. cooked) with fire and polished, and his voice, it was like the roar of a high waterfall.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “His legs glowed like first-class bronze/copper which has been melted-and-moulded and polished. His voice was like the gushing of a great waterfall.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “His feet shone like metal which has come from an oven and has been shined very much. What was heard when he spoke was like the sound of fierce water.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 1:15

His feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace: this describes the appearance of the figure’s feet; it does not say or imply that his feet were made of metal. The exact metal indicated by the Greek word translated burnished bronze is in doubt; the Greek word occurs only here and in 2.18, and nowhere else in Greek literature. The Arndt and Gingrich Lexicon has this entry: “Name of a metal or alloy, the exact nature of which is unknown.” Swete says it was a mixed metal of great brilliance. Most translations have “bronze” or “brass”; Translator’s New Testament has “precious metal.” The precise word burnished may be too high level for the average reader (it means “polished”).

Refined as in a furnace: the process of refining metal ore involves a furnace, where the heat consumes the impurities and the liquid metal flows into a mold. Once the bronze artifact has been made, then it is polished so as to shine. A translation should not give the impression that the bronze was first polished and then refined in a furnace, as Revised English Bible, for example, may imply: “like burnished bronze refined in a furnace.” New International Version‘s “like bronze glowing in a furnace” is not a satisfactory translation, nor is “as the finest bronze glows in a furnace” (Phillips). Translators in many languages will need to make all of this information explicit and say, for example, “shone like bronze that has been refined (or, melted down to get rid of impurities) and then polished.”

His voice was like the sound of many waters: see Ezek 43.2. The many waters may be a waterfall or the roaring sea. New American Bible, Revised has “the sound of rushing water,” Bible en français courant “giant waterfalls” (also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje), Revised English Bible “a mighty torrent.” The figure, of course, indicates the volume of sound, not its quality. One may also say “his voice was loud like….”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 1:15

1:15a

His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as refined :

(1) The bronze, a kind of metal, was no longer hot, so the Greek word means “refined.” It indicates that the bronze was heated until melted. The impurities then floated to the top and were removed. The bronze was allowed to cool, and it returned to solid form again. The bronze was then pure and shiny. It was without impurities. For example:

His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace (Berean Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) The bronze was still hot, so the word means “glowing.” Metals glow red when they are very hot. For example:

His feet were glowing like bronze being heated in a furnace (Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because if the metal glowed red-hot, John could not have seen what kind of metal it was. Other ways to translate this word following interpretation (1) are:

His feet were like bronze purified in a furnace
-or-
His feet were like bronze made pure in a furnace

His feet were like polished bronze: This clause indicates that His feet were similar in color to polished bronze. The clause may also imply strength or moral purity. The clause does not indicate that his feet were hard or unbending like metal.

bronze: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bronze refers to a metal that is a mixture of copper and another metal, either tin (which makes bronze) or zinc (which makes brass). Bronze, as pictured below, is a brown metal color.

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

• Explain the word in your translation. For example:

⌊shiny brown/tan metal called⌋ bronze

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

shiny brown/tan metal

• 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:

Bronze is a metal that is a mixture of copper and tin. It is a brown metal color.

furnace: This word refers to a kind of oven that can be heated so hot that it melts metal. Other ways to translate this word are:

oven
-or-

⌊metal-⌋ refinery

1:15b

His voice was like the roar of many waters: This clause probably indicates that his voice was loud and powerful. Other ways to translate this clause are:

his voice was like the roar of many waters (NET Bible)
-or-
his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves (New Living Translation (2004))

the roar of many waters: Here this phrase refers to a lot of water and to the sound that water makes when it is moving fast. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

raging waters (God’s Word)
-or-
the roar of ⌊many⌋ waterfalls
-or-
flooding water (New Century Version)

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