[B-Greek] Rev.13:1

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Mon May 3 01:13:52 EDT 2004


> Dear Friends, in Rev.13:1, I noticed that both the NASB and NIV
> translate the passage as follows:
>
> "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore." (NASB)
>
> "And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea." (NIV)
>
> However, when I consulted the Greek text I could not find DRAKWN
> anywhere. My only guess is that in Rev.12:17 (18), the phrase KAI
> ESTAQH, which is a 3rd person sing aorist passive verb can be
> taken to refer to its immediate antecedent which is hO DRAKWN. I
> am just puzzled as to why these two translations contain the word
> "dragon" which is lacking in the Greek text. Other translations
> do not have this reading. Many thanks in advance. Best,
>
> Tony Costa
> Toronto, Canada

Actually, almost all modern translations supply the word "dragon" from the
context in order to clarify the reference and follow normal English
discourse structure. Those translations which do not have "dragon" are
producing Greekish English rather than normal English, compare the note in
the NET Bible. These old versions are using a translation strategy that is
fine for the Greek classroom, but misleading in translations for general
reading.

Iver Larsen
SIL Translation Consultant





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