The Greek in Revelation 13:14 that is translated as “make an image” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as in götzendienerischer Weise ein Abbild machen or “make an image in idolatrous fashion.”
image
sign
The Greek that is typically translated in English as “sign” is translated in Huehuetla Tepehua as “thing to be marveled at” (source: Larson 1889, p. 279) and in Mairasi as “big work” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
complete verse (Revelation 13:14)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 13:14:
- Uma: “That surprising sign he did with the power/authority from the first animal. With that surprising sign he deceived the people who live on earth and ordered them to build an idol, their way of honoring that first animal. That first animal is the animal that was cut with a sword but he still lived.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Many people were deceived and influenced by him because of his amazing deeds that he did by the power from the first creature. The people were told by the second creature to make a statue to honor the creature that had been wounded by the weapon but was healed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And by means of the miracles which he was permitted to do in front of the first beast he deceived all mankind on the earth. Then he commanded people to make an image of the first beast and to worship it. That first beast had been struck by a sword, but he did not die.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “So he deceived the unbelieving collective-people on the earth because of the amazing signs that he was permitted to show in his serving of the preceding animal. And he instructed them to make an animal-image with-which-to-worship the preceding animal who had been wounded with a sword but was nonetheless still alive.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “He deceived/lured all the people here in the world through those amazing things he was doing which that first monster was causing to be done. He commanded the people to make an image made like that first monster who had been wounded with a bladed-weapon but lived anyway.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “He was given power to do miracles while he was with this fellow terrible animal, the first one. It wanted to deceive the people all over the world so they would go with them. It told the people to make an idol which would appear like the face of the terrible animal which had been wounded with a sword and then the wound had healed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Translation commentary on Revelation 13:14
By the signs … it deceives those who dwell on earth: for deceives see 2.20, where the same Greek word is translated “is beguiling,” and see “deceiver” in 12.9. Care must be taken that there is no confusion on the identity of the two beasts; if necessary the translation can say here “the second beast is allowed.” Again the phrase those who dwell on earth is used of those who are not God’s people (see its use in 3.10; 6.10; 8.13; 13.8, 12).
It is allowed to work: the passive indicates that only by God’s consent was the second beast able to perform its miracles. So one may translate “God allowed it to do its work.”
In the presence of the beast: here the beast is the first beast of 13.1-8. The picture seems to be that of the second beast performing the miracles while the first beast looked on, much like a master magician performing in the presence of the king.
Bidding them make an image: this is the specific way in which the second beast deceived people: it led them into idolatry. Bidding may be rendered as “commanded” or “ordered.” The word translated image may be translated “idol” or “statue” (Moffatt, An American Translation, Phillips). See also 2.14.
It deceives: see comments under 2.20, where it is translated “is beguiling.”
For the beast: here it is better to say “in honor of the beast”; it appears that this was a statue of the first beast that people were to worship, as seems clear from the information in the following verse about breathing life into this image. To make this explicit one may also say “in honor of that first beast.”
Which was wounded by the sword and yet lived: the text seems to mean, more precisely, “that was mortally wounded (or, put to death) by the sword and came back to life” or “that someone had killed with a sword, and it….” The meaning is not that the beast survived a serious wound, but that it came back to life after having been killed (see a similar statement in 2.8, where the same form of the verb “to live” is used). Of major modern translations, however, only Barclay and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible say “came back to life,” “lived again” (New American Bible, Revised “revived” seems to imply that the beast had lost consciousness). Only here is the detail by the sword added. There is no way of knowing who delivered the fatal sword thrust. Many commentators see this as a deliberate allusion to Nero, who took his own life with his sword.
Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• The second beast was allowed (by God) to perform miracles in the presence of the first beast. By means of these miracles he was able to cause all people on earth to go astray. He ordered them to build a statue of (or, make an image in honor of) the first beast, the one who had been killed by the sword but had come back to life.
Or:
• The second beast led all the people living on the earth astray through the marvelous deeds that God allowed it to perform while the first beast was watching. He commanded them, saying, “You must build a statue of the first beast….”
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 13:14
13:14a–b
The verse labeled 13:14b in the Berean Standard Bible is before 13:14a in the Greek. In some languages it is more natural to follow the Greek order (13:14b before 13:14a). See the General Comment at the end of 13:14b.
13:14a
Because of: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Because of indicates that the beast used the signs to deceive the people. For example:
by (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Through (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
by means of (Good News Translation)
it was given to perform: This is literally “which were given to him to do.” This is a passive clause. Some languages must use an active clause. Probably the dragon gave the power. (God allowed the beast to have this power as a part of his plan.) For example:
the signs which ⌊the dragon⌋ gave authority to him to do
-or-
the signs which he received power to do
on behalf of: Translate this phrase the same way you choose to translate the phrase “before him” in 13:12a (where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as part of the phrase “of the first beast”).
13:14b
it deceived those who dwell on the earth: This indicates that the beast caused people to believe lies and do wrong things. The same word occurs at 2:20d. There the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “misleads.” Here it probably indicates that it deceived people throughout the 42 months.
those who dwell on the earth: This phrase refers to people living on the earth. Another way to translate it is:
the people of the world
General Comment on 13:14a–b
The Berean Standard Bible has reordered these two clauses. In some languages it is more natural to follow the Greek order. For example:
14b He was deceiving the inhabitants of the earth 14a by the signs which were given to him to perform on behalf of the beast.
-or-
14b It fools those who live on earth 14a by the miracles it has been given the power to do. It does these miracles to serve the first beast. (New Century Version)
13:14c
telling them to make an image: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as make means to construct or build the image. The word also implies putting the image in a public place. For example:
The beast told them to build an image (Good News Translation)
-or-
He told those who live on the earth to make an image (NET Bible)
an image: Here the word image refers to a statue that looks like some person or some thing. This statue looked like the first beast:
a statue (God’s Word)
to the beast: The Berean Standard Bible literally represents the Greek here. This phrase indicates that the people honored the beast by making the statue that looked like him:
for the beast (Revised Standard Version)
13:14d
that had been wounded by the sword: This refers to the wound mentioned in 13:3a. It is not a new wound. This clause is passive. Some languages must use another kind of clause. For example:
whom ⌊someone⌋ wounded with the sword
-or-
who had the wound of the sword (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
who had a/the/that deep cut from a sword
sword: A sword is a sharp hand-held weapon that cuts or stabs. The swords of that time were 60–120 centimeters (2–4 feet) long and made of metal. See how you translated this word in 1:16 or 6:4.
General Comment on 13:14c–d
It is strongly implied that the people made the statue as the second beast told them to (13:14c). In some languages it is more natural to include this implied information at the end of 13:14d. For example:
…and yet lived. ⌊And they did so.⌋
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