Revelation 10
The full text of Revelation 10 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
2 He held a little scroll, lying open, in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
3 and he shouted in a loud voice like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the seven thunders spoke with their own voices.
4 When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down."
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven
6 And he swore by the One who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it: "There will be no more delay!
7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be brought to completion, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."
8 Then the voice I had heard from heaven spoke to me again: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
10 I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. In my mouth it was sweet as honey, but after I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
11 Then they said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings."
Translation notes (8)
- Revelation 10:1a These details evoke divine theophany and the exalted Christ: the cloud recalls God's presence (Exodus 13:21; 19:9), the rainbow the throne visions (Ezekiel 1:28; Revelation 4:3), the face like the sun the Son of Man (Revelation 1:16; Matthew 17:2), and fiery pillars the guiding fire and Christ's feet (Exodus 13:21; Revelation 1:15).
- Revelation 10:2a Greek bibliaridion (βιβλαρίδιον), 'little scroll', is the diminutive of biblion, 'scroll', and invites comparison with the sealed scroll in 5:1. The participle eneogmenon (ἠνεῳγμένον), 'opened', is rendered here as 'lying open' to indicate its state.
- Revelation 10:4a The command sphragison, 'seal up', echoes Daniel 12:4 and 12:9, where the prophet is told to seal his book until the time of the end. John's case goes further: Daniel wrote and then sealed, but John is forbidden to write at all, so the utterance of the seven thunders remains the one revelation in the book withheld from the reader.
- Revelation 10:6a This can also be translated as 'Time will be no more.' The Greek word 'chronos' means 'time,' but the context of verse 7 favors the meaning 'delay.'
- Revelation 10:7a The Greek verb etelesthē, 'was completed', is an aorist expressing the certainty of a future event, hence the rendering 'will be brought to completion'. The verb translated 'announced', euēngelisen, is the word for proclaiming good news, from which 'gospel' derives. The assurance that God reveals his plan to 'his servants the prophets' echoes Amos 3:7.
- Revelation 10:9a The command echoes Ezekiel 2:8–3:3, where the prophet eats a scroll that tastes sweet as honey before delivering a message of lamentation. Greek kataphage, 'devour', matches the Septuagint of that passage. The diminutive biblaridion, 'little scroll', distinguishes this document from the sealed scroll of chapter 5.
- Revelation 10:10a This scene alludes to Ezekiel 2:8-3:3; the Septuagint likewise describes the scroll as sweet as honey. The Greek uses the diminutive biblaridion, 'little scroll,' and the verbs katephagon, 'I devoured,' and epikranisthe, 'was made bitter,' which intensify the imagery of reception and consequence.
- Revelation 10:11a This can also be translated as 'against many peoples...'; the Greek preposition can mean either 'about' or 'against.'
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible — rendered from the original Greek and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Revelation, are free to read on this site.
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