complete verse (Revelation 22:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 22:10:

  • Uma: “And he said further to me: ‘Don’t hide the foretelling words in this letter, because their happening/fulfillment has almost come.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And he said to me, ‘Do not hide what is foretold in this book because the time is close when all this will happen.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And he said again, ‘Don’t keep secret these words which have been revealed to you in this book for all of this will soon come to pass.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then he went-on to say, ‘Don’t be-quiet-about what has been prophesied which has been written in this book, because its fulfillment will-be soon.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then what he further said to me was, ‘Don’t hide but rather make known these things shown to you which you have written in this writing. Because it won’t be long until these are fulfilled.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But again he said to me: ‘Do not cover up the words written in this book. Because more nearer is coming the day when it will happen, these words written here.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 22:10

Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book: “Do not seal this book of prophetic messages” (see the opposite of this in Dan 12.4, 9). For the sense of the verb “to seal,” see 10.4. The angel commands John not to stamp “Top Secret,” as it were, on the book, but to leave it open and make its message available to all readers. If the verb “to seal” is difficult or impossible to represent, the translation can be “Do not keep the prophetic messages of this book a secret,” or “Don’t hide from people the prophetic messages of this book,” or “Don’t prevent people from knowing the….” For prophecy of this book see Rev. 22.7 and 1.3.

The time is near: everything that has been announced in the book will happen soon (see 1.3).

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 22:10

Paragraph 22:10–11

22:10a–b

Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book: The phrase seal up refers to putting a seal on something. Here a seal would prevent others from reading the book. The angel wanted John to let others know what was in the book. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

do not prevent others from knowing the words of the prophecy of this book
-or-
Share the words of the prophecy of this book, do not hide them
-or-
Do not keep secret the words of prophecy in this book (New Century Version)

See how you translated the word “sealed” in 5:1.

the words of prophecy in this book: This phrase indicates that this book contained the words of prophecy to which the angel referred. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the prophetic words in this book (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the words of the prophecy of this scroll (New International Version (2011))

See how you translated this phrase in 22:7.

22:10c

the time is near: This clause indicates that the things in this revelation will happen soon. For example:

the time is near ⌊when these things will happen⌋

See how you translated this clause in 1:3.

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Sung version of Revelation 22

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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