Revelation1:7

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Translation

Behold,

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He is coming

with the clouds

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and every eye will see Him

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even those who pierced Him

will see Him,

all the tribes of the earth

will wail because

of Him.

Yes, Amen.

Paraphrase

Consider this—He is coming in a way that will demonstrate his supernatural power, and everyone will know who He is, how powerful He is and what His coming means;

even those who have mistreated Him in some way will understand, and all categories of people on earth will wail because they will know what the sight of Him means.

Yes, let it be so.

Footnotes

1

The word “behold” is simply an attention grabber; it will be rendered a number of different ways in the paraphrase depending on the context.

2

“With the clouds” shows power and glory. Baal was thought to be the “rider of the clouds.” The one who rides the clouds, or comes in the clouds, has control over storms, lightning and thunder, all of which were seen as demonstrations of divine power. In Job and in Psalms (Job 22:14, 36:29, 37:11, 37:15, Ps 18:9, 11 & 12; 68:4, 77:17, 104:3, 135:7) God is rightfully described as the master and controller of the clouds.

3

The “eye” was understood as synonymous with knowing, for much of what we learn comes through what we see. The eye in this case is both literal and symbolic. Every eye will indeed see Him, but the important thing is not the seeing, but the knowing that will come with it.