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12 I[a] turned to see whose voice was speaking to me,[b] and when I did so,[c] I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man.[d] He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt[e] around his chest. 14 His[f] head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow,[g] and his eyes were like a fiery[h] flame.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:12 tn Throughout the translation John’s use of καί (kai) often reflects the varied usage of the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav). A clause which καί introduces has been translated in terms of its semantic relationship to the clause that preceded it. If the καί seemed redundant, however, it was left untranslated; that is the case in this verse.
  2. Revelation 1:12 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (metemou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”
  3. Revelation 1:12 tn Grk “and turning I saw.” The repetition of ἐπιστρέφω (epistrephō) is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been translated generally.
  4. Revelation 1:13 tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (huios tou anthrōpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).
  5. Revelation 1:13 tn Or “a wide golden sash,” but this would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).
  6. Revelation 1:14 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  7. Revelation 1:14 tn The clause, “even as white as snow” seems to heighten the preceding clause and is so understood in this ascensive sense (“even”) in the translation.
  8. Revelation 1:14 tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,(A) 13 and among the lampstands(B) was someone like a son of man,[a](C) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet(D) and with a golden sash around his chest.(E) 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:13 See Daniel 7:13.