Revelation 19

After this I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a huge crowd in heaven. They were saying, "Alleluia! Saving power and glory and honor and strength belong to the Lord our God.

1And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

Note"Alleluia" is the Greek form of the Hebrew phrase hallelu-Yah, "praise Yah," using the shortened form of God's name. It stands at the head or foot of many psalms. In the whole New Testament it occurs only in this chapter, four times.

2His decisions are true and right. He has judged the famous prostitute, the one who ruined the earth with her sexual sin. He has paid her back for the blood of his servants that she spilled."

2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

NoteIn the Hebrew prophets a city or nation that sold its loyalty for wealth and power was routinely pictured as a prostitute, and its dealings as "fornication." The figure here is the city called Babylon in chapters 17 and 18. "Avenged the blood of his servants at her hand" is legal language: he has exacted the penalty from her for the killings she carried out.

3A second time they said, "Alleluia! The smoke from her burning goes up forever and ever."

3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

NoteIn prophetic descriptions of a ruined city, rising smoke is the standing image of a place burned and never rebuilt.

4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down and worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said, "Amen. Alleluia!"

4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

NoteThe KJV's "four beasts" translates a Greek word meaning living creatures, and these are the winged figures around the throne first described in chapter 4. It is a completely different word from the "beast" of verses 19 and 20, which is a hostile political power. The English of 1611 blurs two things the Greek keeps apart.

5A voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you who serve him, and all of you who honor him with respect, whether you are important or not."

5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

Note"Fear him" in older English means to hold in awe and reverence, not to be frightened of him. "Both small and great" is a stock phrase for everyone regardless of rank or importance.

6Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a huge crowd, like the roar of rushing water, like loud rolls of thunder. It said, "Alleluia! The Lord our God, the all-powerful one, is ruling as king.

6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Note"Omnipotent" simply means all-powerful; this is the only place the KJV uses the word. The Greek verb behind "reigneth" is a past-tense form that can mean either "has taken up his reign" or, of a state now in force, "reigns." Both senses are defensible here.

7Let us be glad and full of joy, and let us give him the glory. The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

NoteA Jewish wedding had two stages: a binding betrothal, then later the groom bringing the bride to his home with a feast. Because the betrothal was already legally binding, the Greek word here can be translated either "wife" (as the KJV does) or "bride." The prophets had long used marriage as a picture of the bond between God and his people. "The Lamb" is the title used for Jesus throughout Revelation, from chapter 5 onward.

8She was given fine linen to wear, bright and clean." The fine linen stands for the right things God's holy people have done.

8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Note"Saints" in the KJV does not mean a special class of exceptional people; it renders a word meaning simply God's holy people, all of them. The word the KJV gives as "righteousness" is plural in Greek, "righteous deeds," which is why the rendering speaks of things done. Fine linen was costly cloth, the dress of priests, royalty and the wealthy.

9Then he said to me, "Write this down: Those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb are blessed." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

NoteA wedding feast in this world was a multi-day banquet to which guests were formally invited, and an invitation from a great host was a mark of standing. "Blessed" here means fortunate, well off, in the position one would want to be in; it is the seventh of seven such sayings scattered through Revelation.

10So I fell down at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Don't do that! I serve God alongside you and alongside your brothers and sisters who hold on to the testimony about Jesus. Worship God! The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Note"See thou do it not" is emphatic 1611 English for "don't do that." The phrase "the testimony of Jesus" is grammatically ambiguous in Greek and can mean either the testimony Jesus himself gave or the testimony believers give about him; the same ambiguity runs through both halves of the verse, and the Greek does not settle it.

11Then I saw heaven standing open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True. He judges and makes war in a way that is completely right.

11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

NoteA white horse was what a victorious Roman general rode in his triumphal procession, so the animal itself signals a conqueror. "In righteousness he doth judge and make war" means his judging and his warring are both conducted rightly, not that the war is in addition to the judging.

12His eyes were like a burning flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. He had a name written on him that no one knows except himself.

12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

NoteThe Greek word behind "crowns" here is diadem, the jeweled band worn by a reigning king, not the leafy wreath given to an athlete or a victor. Many of them at once indicates rule over many kingdoms.

13He wore a robe that had been dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God.

13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Note"Vesture" is simply a garment or robe. The picture draws on Isaiah 63:1-3, where a figure comes from battle with clothing stained as if from treading grapes. Interpreters differ on whose blood is meant, his enemies' or his own, and the wording here does not decide it.

14The armies of heaven followed him on white horses. They were dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

NoteThe clothing described is the same fine linen given to the bride in verse 8, not armor, and no weapon is attributed to these armies anywhere in the scene.

15Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He crushes the grapes in the winepress of the burning anger of God, the all-powerful one.

15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

NoteThree separate images. The sword is a large broad blade, and its coming from his mouth means his weapon is his spoken word. "Rule them with a rod of iron" quotes Psalm 2:9; the Greek verb is actually "shepherd," and the rod is the iron-tipped club a shepherd carried, so the phrase holds both shepherding and striking together. A winepress was a stone trough where grapes were trampled barefoot until the juice ran out through a channel, and the juice running red made it a standard image for slaughter.

16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

NoteStatues in the ancient world often carried an inscription on the thigh or on the edge of the garment at the thigh, which is where a rider's clothing would be visible to someone on the ground. "King of kings and lord of lords" was the formal title of Persian and other eastern emperors, a claim to rule over other rulers.

17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high overhead, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God.

17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

Note"In the midst of heaven" means at the high point of the sky, directly overhead. The birds are scavengers, vultures and crows. To be left unburied for them was the deepest possible disgrace for a fallen soldier, and this summons deliberately echoes Ezekiel 39:17-20.

18Then you can eat the bodies of kings, of army commanders, and of strong fighters. You can eat the bodies of horses and their riders, and the bodies of all people, free and enslaved, important and unimportant."

18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

Note"Captains" renders a term for officers commanding a thousand men. "Bond" means enslaved, the opposite of free. "Small and great" again covers everyone of every rank.

19Then I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth with their armies. They had gathered to fight against the rider on the horse and against his army.

19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

Note"The beast" is the political power described in chapter 13, which rose from the sea and was given authority over the nations.

20The beast was captured, and so was the false prophet who had done miracles for him. With those miracles the false prophet had fooled the people who took the beast's mark and worshiped his statue. The two of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

NoteThe false prophet is the second beast of chapter 13, which performed signs and made people honor the first. "Wrought miracles" means performed signs or wonders; "his image" is a statue set up to be worshiped; "the mark of the beast" refers back to the stamp on hand or forehead in chapter 13:16-17 without which people could not buy or sell. "Brimstone" is the old English word for sulfur, which burns with a choking smell and was associated with volcanic destruction.

21The rest were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse. And all the birds ate their fill of the dead bodies.

21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Note"The remnant" here carries none of its usual prophetic sense of a surviving faithful few. It means simply the rest, everyone else in the assembled armies.