Revelation 11:1-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,(A) 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.(B) 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”(C)
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.(D) 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner.(E) 6 They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.(F)
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will wage war on them and conquer them and kill them,(G) 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically[a] called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.(H) 9 For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth.(I)
11 But after the three and a half days, the breath[b] of life from God entered the two witnesses,[c] and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified.(J) 12 Then they[d] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.(K)
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Revelation 11:1-12
New English Translation
The Fate of the Two Witnesses
11 Then[a] a measuring rod[b] like a staff was given to me, and I was told,[c] “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. 2 But[d] do not measure the outer courtyard[e] of the temple; leave it out,[f] because it has been given to the Gentiles,[g] and they will trample on the holy city[h] for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority[i] to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 (These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.)[j] 5 If[k] anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths[l] and completely consumes[m] their enemies. If[n] anyone wants to harm them, they must be killed this way. 6 These two have the power[o] to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the time[p] they are prophesying. They[q] have power[r] to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want. 7 When[s] they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer[t] them and kill them. 8 Their[u] corpses will lie in the street[v] of the great city that is symbolically[w] called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified. 9 For three and a half days those from every[x] people, tribe,[y] nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb.[z] 10 And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. 11 But[aa] after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seized[ab] those who were watching them. 12 Then[ac] they[ad] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: “Come up here!” So the two prophets[ae] went up to heaven in a cloud while[af] their enemies stared at them.
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- Revelation 11:1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
- Revelation 11:1 tn Grk “a reed” (but these were used for measuring). Cf. Ezek 40:3ff.
- Revelation 11:1 tn Grk “saying.”
- Revelation 11:2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
- Revelation 11:2 tn On the term αὐλήν (aulēn) BDAG 150 s.v. αὐλή 1 states, “(outer) court of the temple…Rv 11:2.”
- Revelation 11:2 tn The precise meaning of the phrase ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν (ekbale exōthen) is difficult to determine.
- Revelation 11:2 tn Or “to the nations” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
- Revelation 11:2 sn The holy city appears to be a reference to Jerusalem. See also Luke 21:24.
- Revelation 11:3 tn The word “authority” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. “Power” would be another alternative that could be supplied here.
- Revelation 11:4 sn This description is parenthetical in nature.
- Revelation 11:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 11:5 tn This is a collective singular in Greek.
- Revelation 11:5 tn See L&N 20.45 for the translation of κατεσθίω (katesthiō) as “to destroy utterly, to consume completely.”
- Revelation 11:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 11:6 tn Or “authority.”
- Revelation 11:6 tn Grk “the days.”
- Revelation 11:6 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 11:6 tn Or “authority.”
- Revelation 11:7 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 11:7 tn Or “be victorious over”; traditionally, “overcome.”
- Revelation 11:8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 11:8 tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).
- Revelation 11:8 tn Grk “spiritually.”
- Revelation 11:9 tn The word “every” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the following list.
- Revelation 11:9 tn The Greek term καί (kai) has not been translated before this and the following items in the list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
- Revelation 11:9 tn Or “to be buried.”
- Revelation 11:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
- Revelation 11:11 tn Grk “fell upon.”
- Revelation 11:12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
- Revelation 11:12 tn Though the nearest antecedent to the subject of ἤκουσαν (ēkousan) is the people (“those who were watching them”), it could also be (based on what immediately follows) that the two prophets are the ones who heard the voice.
- Revelation 11:12 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the two prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Revelation 11:12 tn The conjunction καί (kai) seems to be introducing a temporal clause contemporaneous in time with the preceding clause.
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