Rev 19:8 Righteousness/Righteous deeds?
nick lunn
nick_lunn at wycliffe.org
Tue Oct 15 13:41:04 EDT 2002
Revelation 19:7-8 (NIV) says:-
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the
Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen
stands for the righteous acts [TA DIKAIWMATA] of the saints.)
Just about every English version I consulted translates TA DIKAIWMATA
as 'righteous acts', 'righteous deeds' or 'good deeds'.
If this is a correct translation of this neuter plural noun, then I
find it strange. Such a reading seems to go against the Pauline
doctrine of justification by faith rather than by works. But more than
that, in this context (and elsewhere in Revelation, e.g. 3:18) the
garments are said to be 'given', that is, they are not naturally our
own.
My question is: Is there anything to support the interpretation of
this plural noun as signifying 'righteousness'? This is how the old
KJV renders it. I note that Leon Morris in his commentary on the
Revelation (Tyndale) understands the word in terms of a 'sentence of
justification', that is, the divine pronouncement of acquittal
bestowed upon each faithful believer - hence, he says, the plural
form. Can this comment be substantiated?
I'd appreciate your feedback.
Nick Lunn
Wycliffe Bible Translators
KENYA
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