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Revelation 10:1-11 King James Version (KJV)

1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.


Revelation 10:1-11 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 And G2532 I saw G1492 another G243 mighty G2478 angel G32 come down G2597 from G1537 heaven, G3772 clothed G4016 with a cloud: G3507 and G2532 a rainbow G2463 was upon G1909 his G846 head, G2776 and G2532 his G846 face G4383 was as it were G5613 the sun, G2246 and G2532 his G846 feet G4228 as G5613 pillars G4769 of fire: G4442

2 And G2532 he had G2192 in G1722 his G846 hand G5495 a little book G974 open: G455 and G2532 he set G5087 his G846 right G1188 foot G4228 upon G1909 the sea, G2281 and G1161 his left G2176 foot on G1909 the earth, G1093

3 And G2532 cried G2896 with a loud G3173 voice, G5456 as G5618 when a lion G3023 roareth: G3455 and G2532 when G3753 he had cried, G2896 seven G2033 thunders G1027 uttered G2980 their G1438 voices. G5456

4 And G2532 when G3753 the seven G2033 thunders G1027 had uttered G2980 their G1438 voices, G5456 I was about G3195 to write: G1125 and G2532 I heard G191 a voice G5456 from G1537 heaven G3772 saying G3004 unto me, G3427 Seal up G4972 those things which G3739 the seven G2033 thunders G1027 uttered, G2980 and G2532 write G1125 them G5023 not. G3361

5 And G2532 the angel G32 which G3739 I saw G1492 stand G2476 upon G1909 the sea G2281 and G2532 upon G1909 the earth G1093 lifted up G142 his G846 hand G5495 to G1519 heaven, G3772

6 And G2532 sware G3660 by G1722 him that liveth G2198 for G1519 ever G165 and ever, G165 who G3739 created G2936 heaven, G3772 and G2532 the things that therein are, G1722 G846 and G2532 the earth, G1093 and G2532 the things that therein are, G1722 G846 and G2532 the sea, G2281 and G2532 the things which are therein, G1722 G846 that G3754 there should be G2071 time G5550 no G3756 longer: G2089

7 But G235 in G1722 the days G2250 of the voice G5456 of the seventh G1442 angel, G32 when G3752 he shall begin G3195 to sound, G4537 G2532 the mystery G3466 of God G2316 should be finished, G5055 as G5613 he hath declared G2097 to his G1438 servants G1401 the prophets. G4396

8 And G2532 the voice G5456 which G3739 I heard G191 from G1537 heaven G3772 spake G2980 unto G3326 me G1700 again, G3825 and G2532 said, G3004 Go G5217 and take G2983 the little book G974 which G3588 is open G455 in G1722 the hand G5495 of the angel G32 which G3588 standeth G2476 upon G1909 the sea G2281 and G2532 upon G1909 the earth. G1093

9 And G2532 I went G565 unto G4314 the angel, G32 and said G3004 unto him, G846 Give G1325 me G3427 the little book. G974 And G2532 he said G3004 unto me, G3427 Take G2983 it, and G2532 eat G2719 it G846 up; G2719 and it G2532 shall make G4087 thy G4675 belly G2836 bitter, G4087 but G235 it shall be G2071 in G1722 thy G4675 mouth G4750 sweet G1099 as G5613 honey. G3192

10 And G2532 I took G2983 the little book G974 out of G1537 the angel's G32 hand, G5495 and G2532 ate G2719 it G846 up; G2719 and G2532 it was G2258 in G1722 my G3450 mouth G4750 sweet G1099 as G5613 honey: G3192 and G2532 as soon as G3753 I had eaten G5315 it, G846 my G3450 belly G2836 was bitter. G4087

11 And G2532 he said G3004 unto me, G3427 Thou G4571 must G1163 prophesy G4395 again G3825 before G1909 many G4183 peoples, G2992 and G2532 nations, G1484 and G2532 tongues, G1100 and G2532 kings. G935


Revelation 10:1-11 American Standard (ASV)

1 And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire;

2 and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;

3 and he cried with a great voice, as a lion roareth: and when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.

4 And when the seven thunders uttered `their voices', I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

5 And the angel that I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his right hand to heaven,

6 and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall be delay no longer:

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished they mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets.

8 And the voice which I heard from heaven, `I heard it' again speaking with me, and saying, Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel that standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

9 And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was made bitter.

11 And they say unto me, Thou must prophesy again over many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.


Revelation 10:1-11 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And I saw another strong messenger coming down out of the heaven, arrayed with a cloud, and a rainbow upon the head, and his face as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire,

2 and he had in his hand a little scroll opened, and he did place his right foot upon the sea, and the left upon the land,

3 and he cried with a great voice, as a lion doth roar, and when he cried, speak out did the seven thunders their voices;

4 and when the seven thunders spake their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, `Seal the things that the seven thunders spake,' and, `Thou mayest not write these things.'

5 And the messenger whom I saw standing upon the sea, and upon the land, did lift up his hand to the heaven,

6 and did swear in Him who doth live to the ages of the ages, who did create the heaven and the things in it, and the land and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it -- that time shall not be yet,

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he may be about to sound, and the secret of God may be finished, as He did declare to His own servants, to the prophets.

8 And the voice that I heard out of the heaven is again speaking with me, and saying, `Go, take the little scroll that is open in the hand of the messenger who hath been standing upon the sea, and upon the land:'

9 and I went away unto the messenger, saying to him, `Give me the little scroll;' and he saith to me, `Take, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet -- as honey.'

10 And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the messenger, and did eat it up, and it was in my mouth as honey -- sweet, and when I did eat it -- my belly was made bitter;

11 and he saith to me, `It behoveth thee again to prophesy about peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings -- many.'


Revelation 10:1-11 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And I saw another strong angel coming down out of the heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow upon his head, and his countenance as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire,

2 and having in his hand a little opened book. And he set his right foot on the sea, and the left upon the earth,

3 and cried with a loud voice as a lion roars. And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their own voices.

4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write: and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying, Seal the things which the seven thunders have spoken, and write them not.

5 And the angel whom I saw stand on the sea and on the earth lifted up his right hand to the heaven,

6 and swore by him that lives to the ages of ages, who created the heaven and the things that are in it, and the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be no longer delay;

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God also shall be completed, as he has made known the glad tidings to his own bondmen the prophets.

8 And the voice which I heard out of the heaven [was] again speaking with me, and saying, Go, take the little book which is opened in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.

9 And I went to the angel, saying to him to give me the little book. And he says to me, Take and eat it up: and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the hand of the angel, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth as honey, sweet; and when I had eaten it my belly was made bitter.

11 And it was said to me, Thou must prophesy again as to peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.


Revelation 10:1-11 World English Bible (WEB)

1 I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

2 He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land.

3 He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices.

4 When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don't write them."

5 The angel who I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the sky,

6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay,

7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants, the prophets.

8 The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land."

9 I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, "Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."

10 I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

11 They told me, "You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings."


Revelation 10:1-11 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and an arch of coloured light was round his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;

2 And he had in his hand a little open book: and he put his right foot on the sea, and his left on the earth;

3 And he gave a loud cry, like the angry voice of a lion: and at his cry the voices of the seven thunders were sounding.

4 And when the seven thunders had given out their voices, I was about to put their words down: and a voice from heaven came to my ears, saying, Keep secret the things which the seven thunders said, and do not put them in writing.

5 And the angel which I saw taking his position on the sea and on the earth, put up his right hand to heaven,

6 And took his oath by him who is living for ever and ever, who made the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there would be no more waiting:

7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when the sound of his horn is about to come, then will the secret of God be complete, of which he gave the good news to his servants the prophets.

8 And the voice came to me again from heaven, saying, Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who has his place on the sea and on the earth.

9 And I went to the angel, and said to him, Give me the little book. And he said to me: Put it in your mouth; and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and did as he said; and it was sweet as honey in my mouth: and when I had taken it, my stomach was made bitter.

11 And they said to me, You are to give word again of what is coming in the future to the peoples and nations and languages and kings.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 10

Commentary on Revelation 10 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 10

This chapter is an introduction to the latter part of the prophecies of this book. Whether what is contained between this and the sounding of the seventh trumpet (ch. 11:15) be a distinct prophecy from the other, or only a more general account of some of the principal things included in the other, is disputed by our curious enquirers into these abstruse writings. However, here we have,

  • I. A remarkable description of a very glorious angel with an open book in his hand (v. 1-3).
  • II. An account of seven thunders which the apostle heard, as echoing to the voice of this angel, and communicating some discoveries, which the apostle was not yet allowed to write (v. 4).
  • III. The solemn oath taken by him who had the book in his hand (v. 5-7).
  • IV. The charge given to the apostle, and observed by him (v. 8-11).

Rev 10:1-7

Here we have an account of another vision the apostle was favoured with, between the sounding of the sixth trumpet and that of the seventh. And we observe,

  • I. The person who was principally concerned in communicating this discovery to John-an angel from heaven, another mighty angel, who is so set forth as would induce one to think it could be no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
    • 1. He was clothed with a cloud: he veils his glory, which is too great for mortality to behold; and he throws a veil upon his dispensations. Clouds and darkness are round about him.
    • 2. A rainbow was upon his head; he is always mindful of his covenant, and, when his conduct is most mysterious, yet it is perfectly just and faithful.
    • 3. His face was as the sun, all bright, and full of lustre and majesty, ch. 1:16.
    • 4. His feet were as pillars of fire; all his ways, both of grace and providence, are pure and steady.
  • II. His station and posture: He set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth, to show the absolute power and dominion he had over the world. And he held in his hand a little book opened, probably the same that was before sealed, but was now opened, and gradually fulfilled by him.
  • III. His awful voice: He cried aloud, as when a lion roareth (v. 3), and his awful voice was echoed by seven thunders, seven solemn and terrible ways of discovering the mind of God.
  • IV. The prohibition given to the apostle, that he should not publish, but conceal what he had learned from the seven thunders, v. 4. The apostle was for preserving and publishing every thing he saw and heard in these visions, but the time had not yet come.
  • V. The solemn oath taken by this mighty angel.
    • 1. The manner of his swearing: He lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth for ever, by himself, as God often has done, or by God as God, to whom he, as Lord, Redeemer, and ruler of the world, now appeals.
    • 2. The matter of the oath: that there shall be time no longer; either,
      • (1.) That there shall be now no longer delay in fulfilling the predictions of this book than till the last angel should sound; then every thing should be put into speedy execution: the mystery of God shall be finished, v. 7. Or,
      • (2.) That when this mystery of God is finished time itself shall be no more, as being the measure of things that are in a mutable changing state; but all things shall be at length for ever fixed, and so time itself swallowed up in eternity.

Rev 10:8-11

Here we have,

  • I. A strict charge given to the apostle, which was,
    • 1. That he should go and take the little book out of the hands of that mighty angel mentioned before. This charge was given, not by the angel himself who stood upon the earth, but by the same voice from heaven that in the fourth verse had lain an injunction upon him not to write what he had discerned by the seven thunders.
    • 2. To eat the book; this part of the charge was given by the angel himself, hinting to the apostle that before he should publish what he had discovered he must more thoroughly digest the predictions, and be in himself suitably affected with them.
  • II. An account of the taste and relish which this little book would have, when the apostle had taken it in; at first, while in his mouth, sweet. All persons feel a pleasure in looking into future events, and in having them foretold; and all good men love to receive a word from God, of what import soever it be. But, when this book of prophecy was more thoroughly digested by the apostle, the contents would be bitter; these were things so awful and terrible, such grievous persecutions of the people of God, and such desolation made in the earth, that the foresight and foreknowledge of them would not be pleasant, but painful to the mind of the apostle: thus was Ezekiel's prophecy to him, ch. 3:3.
  • III. The apostle's discharge of the duty he was called to (v. 10): He took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up, and he found the relish to be as was told him.
    • 1. It becomes the servants of God to digest in their own souls the messages they bring to others in his name, and to be suitably affected therewith themselves.
    • 2. It becomes them to deliver every message with which they are charged, whether pleasing or unpleasing to men. That which is least pleasing may be most profitable; however, God's messengers must not keep back any part of the counsel of God.
  • IV. The apostle is made to know that this book of prophecy, which he had now taken in, was not given him merely to gratify his own curiosity, or to affect him with pleasure or pain, but to be communicated by him to the world. Here his prophetical commission seems to be renewed, and he is ordered to prepare for another embassy, to convey those declarations of the mind and will of God which are of great importance to all the world, and to the highest and greatest men in the world, and such should be read and recorded in many languages. This indeed is the case; we have them in our language, and are all obliged to attend to them, humbly to enquire into the meaning of them, and firmly to believe that every thing shall have its accomplishment in the proper time; and, when the prophecies shall be fulfilled, the sense and truth of them will appear, and the omniscience, power, and faithfulness of the great God will be adored.