Revelation 20:4
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- KJV
- And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- WEB
- I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- ASV
- And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- DARBY
- And I saw thrones; and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and the souls of those beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus, and on account of the word of God; and those who had not done homage to the beast nor to his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and hand; and they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years:
- BLB
- And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, and the souls of those having been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who did not worship the beast nor its image, and did not receive the mark upon the forehead and upon their hand. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- ÅB
- Og jeg så troner, og de satte seg på dem, og det ble gitt dem makt til å holde dom; og jeg så deres sjeler som var blitt halshugget for Jesu vitnesbyrds og for Guds ords skyld, og dem som ikke hadde tilbedt dyret eller dets bilde, og som ikke hadde tatt merket på sin panne og på sin hånd; og de ble levende og regjerte med Kristus i tusen år.
- OTB
- Jeg så troner, og de som satt på dem ble gitt myndighet til å dømme. Jeg så sjelene til dem som var blitt halshugget for sitt vitnesbyrd om Jesus og Guds ord, og de som ikke hadde tilbedt dyret eller dets bilde eller mottatt dets merke på sine panner eller hender. De ble levende og hersket med Kristus i tusen år.
- B1930
- Og jeg så troner, og de satte sig på dem, og det blev gitt dem makt til å holde dom; og jeg så deres sjeler som var blitt halshugget for Jesu vidnesbyrds og for Guds ords skyld, og dem som ikke hadde tilbedt dyret eller dets billede, og som ikke hadde tatt merket på sin panne og på sin hånd; og de blev levende og regjerte med Kristus i tusen år.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Daniel 7:27
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Read in contextDaniel 7:18
But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Read in contextMatthew 19:28
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Read in context1 Corinthians 6:2–3
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Read in context2 Timothy 2:12
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Read in contextRevelation 3:21
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Read in contextRevelation 6:9
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Read in contextDaniel 7:22
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Read in context