Revelation 19:10 in Different Versions
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he [stopped me and] said to me “You must not do that; I am [only] another servant with you and your brothers and sisters who have accepted and hold the testimony borne by Jesus. Worship God [alone]. For the substance (essence) of truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy – the vital breath, the inspiration of all inspired preaching and interpretation of the divine will and purpose. AMP [Subjective]
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. ESV [Ambiguous]
I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do it! I am a servant together with you and with other believers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed. Worship God!” For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets. GNB [Subjective]
Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” HCSB [Objective]
I bowed down at his feet to worship him, but he told me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who rely on what Jesus is saying. Worship God, because what Jesus is saying is the spirit of prophecy!” ISV [Subjective]
“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No! Don’t! For I am a servant of God just as you are, and as your brother Christians are, who testify of their faith in Jesus. Worship God. The purpose of all prophecy and of all I have shown you is to tell about Jesus.” Living Bible [Objective]
I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn’t let me. “Don’t do that,” he said. “I’m a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” MSG [Ambiguous]
10Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.” NLT [Objective]
I was so overwhelmed with awe that I fell down to honor him, but he said, “Don’t honor me! I am a fellow worker on God’s team with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony Jesus revealed about his Father. Give honor to God and worship him! For the testimony Jesus gave about his Father is the same as that which inspired the prophets.” Remedy [Subjective]
And I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “See, do not do it! I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers who possess the witness of יהושע. Worship Elohim! For the witness of יהושע is the spirit of prophecy.” TS2009 [Ambiguous]
Then I fell before his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must take care not to do that. I am only a fellow-slave of yours and of your brothers who hold to the testimony borne by Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony borne by Jesus is the inspiring spirit of prophecy.” Williams [Subjective]
The Standard Literal Version is “having the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” which is followed by AFV, AFV, ASV, BSB, CJB, CSB, ESV, GW, HCSB, JUB, KJV (and all derivatives), LITV, LSV, Murdock, NENT, NET, RV, RSV, TCENT, WEB, WEBA and YLT. 21 translations in all. [Ambiguous]
Curiously the NIV follows the same standard approach except for the following reversal: “Who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears the testimony of Jesus. [Ambiguous]
The first key for us to understand more clearly is whether the words “the testimony of Jesus” are to be understood to mean “the testimony Jesus gave about himself” [Subjective Genitive] or the testimony given by others about Jesus [Objective Genitive]. If you look again at the versions I have listed above, you will pick up the difference I am sure. I have classified each one for you as to whether the version is seeing the phrase as an objective or a subjective genitive or is deliberately leaving it ambiguous. There is actually no way of telling from the Greek text which alternative should be adopted. It’s a matter of interpretation rather than using the Greek text to tell the difference. There’s no indicator present to be seen from the words on the page; a choice has to be made. How did John mean this to be read, as an objective genitive, a subjective genitive or both together – a kind of dual? After all, we know John liked double meanings and plays on words. See the classifications I have added above.
- The first aspect to work out is what is meant by “the testimony of Jesus”?
- Is it the testimony Jesus gave about himself through word and deed or the testimony others gave about Jesus by their word or deed?
- Or is it both combined: the testimony Jesus himself gave and what others have testified about Jesus?
- Does it matter?
It is always useful to use the Bible versions to test the meaning when you encounter subtle differences in the meaning of the text. Conducting a survey of the translations / versions will often bring to the surface difficulties evident in the versions where alternatives exist. Isolating the words or the groups of word and determining the intent of the author in using those words is a significant step forward towards understanding the meaning intended.
The next step to understanding the full intent of what John has written in Revelation 19:10 is then to decide in what way ‘the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ having first worked out is the phrase subjective, objective or deliberately ambiguous?’
I hinted at these two perspectives and questions in the introductory email I gave you when sending Gem 2360.
- What is meant by the spirit of prophecy?
- Can the spirit of prophecy be found in what others have said about Jesus or is it found only in what Jesus said about himself?
- What therefore is the conclusion to be drawn from the full statement: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”?
I will cover the first level in this Gem and save the second stage for the following Gem, Bible Gem 2362.
How do you go about studying a verse in the Bible in greater depth for yourself?
Look at the versions I have listed above and decide what you think.
Conduct your own survey of your favourite versions and determine how they handle the phrase “the testimony of Jesus”.
- Is it a subjective genitive – based on what Jesus himself said and did?
- Or is it an objective genitive – based on what others say about Jesus?
- Or is it deliberately ambiguous to leave the options open?
The Next Level
When you think you have made your mind up it is always a good idea to then consult the commentaries to see what they say. A good resource to use for using commentaries is E-Sword which has as many as thirty different commentaries available free of charge. You will gain an idea of what the experts consider John meant by the words under scrutiny. I will lead you through the process in the following Gems. Finally I will sum up what I think John meant by these words using resources which are not necessarily available to laypeople. You can participate in this exercise to whatever level you choose. I will lead you through the steps Gem by Gem. Or you can wait for the end of this series and not do anything yourself. You know the best course of action to take to develop you own skills.
I have laid out your task above for the first level survey. (See the green text above.)
Some useful free commentaries available in E-Sword are:
- Ancient = Ancient Christian – good for early NT background view
- Barnes = Albert Barnes – on occasions has some good input
- Clarke = Adam Clarke – thorough and useful, highlights salient info
- Expositor = Expositor’s Bible – long winded and wordy but occasionally useful
- Gill = John Gill – thorough and useful, highlights salient info
- Guzik = David Guzik – on occasions has some good input, often trite and misses the point
- Haydock = George Haydock – thorough and useful, highlights salient info, wordy, Catholic perspective
- JFB = Jamieson, Fausset, Brown – thorough and useful, highlights salient info
- King = KingComments – overly thorough but useful, highlights salient info
- Kretz = Paul Kretzmann – on occasions has some good input
- Popular = Popular New Testament – long winded and wordy but occasionally useful
- Pulpit = long winded and wordy but occasionally useful
- Sermon = Sermon Bible – long winded and wordy , need to speed read, unwieldily long sentences
- Smith = Chuck Smith – occasionally useful on pentecostal things
I always do my work on the text first and consult the commentaries only on difficult passages, after I have done my own work. With particularly difficult passages such as this one I will look at all commentaries at my disposal in order to ensure I have gained all the perspective I can. In the case of Revelation I have 50 hard copy commentaries in my library to consult when needed, all provided fortuitously by the LORD. Some are invaluable, if you want to know which are most useful, ask me. Often with the really difficult challenges hidden in a Bible verse the commentators have nothing to say about it. They skip it out altogether. Many readers have told me over the years they find the commentaries no help at all, they often seem to state the obvious and skip the hard stuff.
I am very aware that numbers of serious Bible students / proponents subscribe to the Gems and then unsubscribe soon after. Largely because the Bible Gems I write are long and detailed. I deliberately like to deal with biblical complexity in one Gem, but on occasions such as this current series I will extend it in order to deal thoroughly with a difficult text or to demonstrate how to be more thorough in your own approach. Bear in mind given my background, I am primarily writing these Gem for my own benefit but also to aid fellow Bible translators. I also have resources which are not available to everyone. Many people from all backgrounds tell me they love the depth they find in the Gems and Nuggets.
It’s time to investigate for yourself what John meant by “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” using all the resources at your disposal.
Write to me to tell me what you think. Ask me further questions by way of clarification as long as this series runs.
The best translation is when you translate the Word of God into your daily life. You ought to be a living Bible.
Rick Warren
Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.
Judy Garland
It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.
Mark Twain
The versions of the Bible are in reality a key to understanding difficult passages. The variations we complain about help you to see the greater depth behind the text, as in this case.
Ian