complete verse (Revelation 3:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 3:8:

  • Uma: “He says: I know what you do. See, I open for you a door that no-one can shut. Because you do, after all, have a little strength, and you have followed my words and you did not deny that you believed in me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I do know what you are doing. I know that you are not strong (connotation also: influential). But you have persevered following my teachings and you have been steadfast with me. I open a door for you, nobody can close it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I know what you are doing. Even though you are few, you are faithful to My words, and you have not abandoned your faith in me. Therefore the door you are passing through, I have opened up. And it cannot be closed by anybody, which is to say, no one can hinder you in that which I cause you to do.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I know your way-of-life. I know that you have only a little ability, but never-mind, because you have believed/obeyed what I have said and you have not denied that you believe in me. Therefore there is that which is compared to an entrance which I have opened for you which no one can-close.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Your situation and nature/ways are really clear to me. For even though your ability/means is not great for you aren’t many, even so you indeed are holding fast to me and are obeying my teaching. That’s why there is an entrance which I have opened through which you can enter and there’s no-one at all who will be able to close it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I know what all you are doing. I know that it is very little strength you have to do work for me. Yet I know that you pay some attention to the word I speak and have not forsaken my name. Therefore I have opened a door for you which no one can shut.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Revelation 3:8

I know your works: see the comments at 2.2.

Behold: see 1.7.

The Greek text, as punctuated in the United Bible Societies’ (UBS) Greek New Testament, sets off within dashes the clause “Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut” (New Revised Standard Version; American Standard Version [American Standard Version] and New American Bible, Revised use parentheses), because the sense of the sentence is I know your works … that you have but little power…. In order to make this connection, Revised Standard Version and others repeat “I know” (so Revised English Bible, Translator’s New Testament, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version); Good News Translation, on the other hand, restructures the sentence, placing the statement about “the door” at the end (also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje), inasmuch as the open door comes as a result of the people’s faithfulness. Translators will decide which model is better for their languages.

I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut: the door is a figure for an opportunity for service or for preaching the gospel (see 1 Cor 16.9; 2 Cor 2.12; Col 4.3), and many see that as its meaning here. But here it can indicate free entrance into the Messianic kingdom, which no one will be able to block. Again the translator is to avoid the temptation to make the meaning of the figure explicit, unless it is likely to be misunderstood. In that case one may say “a door of opportunity.”

Instead of the literal “I have set an open door in front of you,” it may be better to say “I have opened a door in front of you” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant); Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “I have opened a door for you.” The word in Greek translated open is not an adjective as such but the perfect passive participle of the verb “to open”: “an opened door,” “a door that has been opened and remains open” (opened either by God or by the glorified Christ).

I know that you have but little power: here the little power the Christians at Philadelphia have is their influence in the community. The church is small, and few members, if any, have any prestige in their hometown. (In 2.26 Revised Standard Version “power” translates a different Greek word.) So one may render this clause as “I know that you do not have much prestige,” or idiomatically as “… do not have much face.”

And yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name: Revised Standard Version has translated the initial Greek kai and yet (also New International Version, New American Bible, Revised, Bible en français courant), which agrees with the context. This should be included in the translation. Despite their lack of power the Christians in Philadelphia have been faithful to Christ. The verbal phrase have kept my word means “have followed my teaching,” “have obeyed my commands.” Phillips translates “have been faithful to my message,” and Barclay “have been obedient to my instructions.”

And have not denied my name: see the similar “did not deny my faith” in 2.13; for my name see 2.3. This means “you have not disowned me,” “you have not renounced your faith in me,” “you have not said that you do not believe in me,” or “you have not said, ‘I don’t believe in Jesus (Christ),’ ” that is, “you have not apostatized.” For the same verb “deny” see Matt 10.33; Luke 12.9; 2 Peter 2.1; Jude 4.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• I know the life you live. I know that you have only a little prestige. You have obeyed (or, followed) my commands and have not said that you do not know me. Look, I have opened a door in front of you which no one is able to shut.

Or:

• I know the things that you do. I know that you do not have much face. You have followed my teaching and have never said, “I don’t know Jesus.” I have opened a door in front of you which no one is able to shut.

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 3:8

3:8a

I know your deeds: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as deeds means “actions” or “activities.” You should translate this clause as you did in 3:1.

your: The Greek pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as your is singular. It refers to the angel of the church as the representative of all the believers there.

In many languages it is more natural to use plural pronouns here and in the following verses to refer to the believers directly. This is the same issue as in 3:1d.

3:8b

See: The word emphasizes or calls attention to the words that follow. The word is not a command to look at something. Other ways to translate this word are:

Indeed/Wow
-or-
Listen/Hey!

See how you translated this word in 1:7 or 2:22 (“Behold” in Berean Standard Bible).

I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut: There are several ways to interpret the metaphor of an open door. The two main ways are:

(1) The “open door” represents the way into God’s kingdom.

(2) The “open door” represents the opportunity to serve and witness and help people to follow Christ.

Some languages can use the metaphor of an open door to allow for one or both interpretations. But in some languages a literal translation would mean something else entirely. If that is true in your language, use a different metaphor or plain language that allows for one or both interpretations. For example:

I have placed a road before you that no one can block
-or-
I have given to you an opportunity that no one can thwart/frustrate

3:8c

you have only a little strength: Here this phrase probably refers to the fact that this was a small church. It was not strong in numbers, wealth, or influence in society. The people of this church were, therefore, not able to do much for Jesus. This phrase does not imply that they were sinning. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

you are not very strong (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
you are weak ⌊in what you able to do⌋

3:8d

have kept My word: The word kept here means “followed” or “obeyed.” The believers in Philadelphia had obeyed Jesus’ commands and teachings. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

have followed my teaching (Good News Translation)
-or-
have kept my commandments (New Jerusalem Bible)

have not denied My name: This clause indicates that the believers in Philadelphia had not rejected Jesus. They had openly declared that they followed him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

did not deny me (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
did not deny that you are my followers (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
have not disowned me
-or-
have been faithful/loyal to me

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.