worship

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The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are often translated as “worship” (also, “kneel down” or “bow down”) are likewise translated in other languages in certain categories, including those based on physical activity, those which incorporate some element of “speaking” or “declaring,” and those which specify some type of mental activity.

Following is a list of (back-) translations (click or tap for details):

  • Javanese: “prostrate oneself before”
  • Malay: “kneel and bow the head”
  • Kaqchikel: “kneel before”
  • Loma (Liberia): “drop oneself beneath God’s foot”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “wag the tail before God” (using a verb which with an animal subject means “to wag the tail,” but with a human subject)
  • Tzotzil: “join to”
  • Kpelle: “raise up a blessing to God”
  • Kekchí: “praise as your God”
  • Cashibo-Cacataibo: “say one is important”
  • San Blas Kuna: “think of God with the heart”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “have one’s heart go out to God”
  • Tabasco Chontal: “holy-remember” (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Bariai: “lift up God’s name” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Q’anjob’al: “humble oneself before” (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Alur: rwo: “complete submission, adoration, consecration” (source: F. G. Lasse in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 22ff. )
  • Obolo: itọtọbọ ebum: “express reverence and devotion” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Ngäbere: “cut oneself down before” (“This figure of speech comes from the picture of towering mahoganies in the forest which, under the woodman’s ax, quiver, waver, and then in solemn, thunderous crashing bury their lofty heads in the upstretched arms of the surrounding forest. This is the experience of every true worshiper who sees ‘the Lord, high and lifted up.’ Our own unworthiness brings us low. As the Valientes say, ‘we cut ourselves down before’ His presence. Our heads, which have been carried high in self-confidence, sink lower and lower in worship.)
  • Tzeltal: “end oneself before God.” (“Only by coming to the end of oneself can one truly worship. The animist worships his deities in the hope of receiving corresponding benefits, and some pagans in Christendom think that church attendance is a guarantee of success in this life and good luck in the future. But God has never set a price on worship except the price that we must pay, namely, ‘coming to the end of ourselves.'”) (Source of this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 163)
  • Folopa: “die under God” (“an idiom that roughly back-translates “dying under God” which means lifting up his name and praising him and to acknowledge by everything one does and thanks that God is superior.”) (Source: Anderson / Moore, p. 202)
  • Chokwe: kuivayila — “rub something on” (“When anyone goes into the presence of a king or other superior, according to native law and custom the inferior gets down on the ground, takes a little earth in the fingers of his right hand, rubs it on his own body, and then claps his hands in homage and the greeting of friendship. It is a token of veneration, of homage, of extreme gratitude for some favor received. It is also a recognition of kingship, lordship, and a prostrating of oneself in its presence. Yet it simply is the applicative form of ‘to rub something on oneself’, this form of the verb giving the value of ‘because of.’ Thus in God’s presence as king and Lord we metaphorically rub dirt on ourselves, thus acknowledging Him for what He really is and what He has done for us.”) (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

complete verse (Revelation 13:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 13:12:

  • Uma: “That second animal is a prophet that is sent-as-representative by that first animal earlier. So, all the power/authority of the first animal is exercised [lit., caused-to-walk] by that second animal. All the people who live on the earth he forced to worship that first animal, who had a great wound, but was healed.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He used the power given to him by the creature whose wound had been healed. He forced all people in the world telling them to worship that first creature.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “This beast, he is the prophet of Satan and he used the power of the first beast who is the one who sent him. He forced all mankind to worship the first beast whose wound which had almost killed him had healed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He had all the authority of the preceding fearsome animal, and he was using it in serving him. And he forced all people on the earth to worship/praise that-aforementioned preceding-one whose wound that should have killed him had healed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He was being sent/entrusted by that first monster, that’s why he used the authority and means/ability of that first one. And he forced all people here under the heavens to worship that first animal, who had a wound which even though it would cause death, instead it indeed healed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “All the power which the first terrible animal had was given to it and first looked on at all it did. This terrible animal who had come out of the earth caused the people all over the world to worship the terrible animal which had come out of the water, that one whose wound had healed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 13:12

It exercises: as Revised Standard Version shows, the writer switches from the past tense in verse 11 to the present tense in verses 12-18. Among major modern translations, only Moffatt, An American Translation, Phillips, Revised Standard Version, and New Revised Standard Version make this change; most continue, as does Good News Translation, to use the past tense. A translator must decide here, as elsewhere, what effect the shift of tense will have on the reader.

It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence: the second beast acts as the representative, the deputy, of the first beast. It can act with all the authority of the first beast, who had received its authority from the dragon (verse 2). In the presence of the first beast, the second beast enforces the wishes of the first beast. All the authority can be expressed as “the wide-reaching authority.” In its presence may be rendered as “before the eyes (or, face) of the first beast” or “while it is with the first beast.”

Makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast: as in the case of “heaven and you that dwell therein” in 12.12, here it may be necessary to say “it forces all the people in the world to worship the first beast.” For the phrase its inhabitants see the similar expression “all who dwell on earth” in verse 8.

Whose mortal wound was healed: see Rev. 13.3.

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 13:12

13:12a

And this beast exercised all the authority: Here the word exercised means “used.” The second beast ruled with the same authority that the first beast had. For example:

The second beast uses all the authority (God’s Word)

The beast probably ruled during the whole 42 months. Translate this clause so that it indicates always doing so rather than doing this once.

of the first beast: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as of the first beast is more literally “of the first beast before him.” There are several ways to interpret the phrase “before him.” The main interpretations are:

(1) The Greek phrase means in submission to him or for his benefit. The authority of the second beast came from the first beast, and he worked for the first beast. For example:

on its behalf (New Revised Standard Version)

(2) The Greek phrase means in his presence. The second beast ruled while standing in front of the first beast. For example:

stands before (New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the BDAG supports it.

13:12b

caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast: These words indicate that the second beast required people to worship the first beast. If they did not worship it, he would punish them. For example:

It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast (Good News Translation)

the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast: The phrase the earth and those who dwell in it refers to the people of the earth. They will worship the first beast. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

all the earth and its people (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
all the people of the world worship the first beast and ⌊made⌋ the ⌊things of the⌋ world be used for that worship

worship: This word refers to honoring someone or something as sacred/divine. Other ways to translate this word are:

venerate
-or-
revere

See how you translated this word in 13:4.

13:12c

whose mortal wound had been healed: As 13:3a indicates, one of the first beast’s heads had a fatal wound. But this clause indicates that the wound was healed. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the one who had been wounded to death but healed
-or-
whose deadly injury had healed (New Jerusalem Bible)

This tells the reader more about the first beast. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there were other beasts called “the first beast” and only this one had a fatal wound. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it tells more about the first beast. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

His mortal wound had been healed

See how you translated a similar clause in 13:3.

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