Translation commentary on Revelation 7:11

All the angels: the scene is the same as in 5.11, except that here the twenty-four elders are named before the four living creatures, not after.

They fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God: see 1.17; 4.10; 5.14. Instead of the verb “to fall” it may be better to say “they prostrated themselves (or, lay prostrate) in front of the throne,” or “they lay face downwards in front of the throne.”

Worshiped God: see 4.10.

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 7:11

7:11a–b

And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures: The throne was at the center of the area. Near the throne were the four living creatures (4:6b). The elders were in a circle around the throne and the four living creatures (4:4a). This clause indicates that the angels surrounded all these things. Other ways to translate this clause are:

All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. (Good News Translation)
-or-
all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four living creatures (New Jerusalem Bible)

7:11b

the elders: Here the word elders refers to those who have authority. These twenty-four people (or angels) were leaders. They had God as their leader. See how you translated this word in 4:4.

the four living creatures: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as living creatures is literally “living (ones).” The word refers to beings that are like angels. See how you translated this phrase in 4:6.

7:11c

And they fell facedown: Here, this phrase refers to kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone. This position showed complete humility before God and honored him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

prostrated themselves…and touched the ground with their foreheads (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
threw themselves down with their faces to the ground (NET Bible)

Many languages have a different action that shows complete humility and honor to someone. If that is true in your language, you may want to use that word or phrase. See how you translated the similar phrases in 4:10 or 5:14.

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

venerated
-or-
revered

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