Revelation 19
The full text of Revelation 19 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great crowd in heaven, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."
3 And again they cried out:
"Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever."
4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. They cried:
"Amen. Hallelujah!"
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God, all you his servants,
you who fear him, both small and great!"
6 Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a great crowd, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him the glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous deeds of God's holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
11 Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying high overhead, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great."
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army.
20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
21 The rest were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Translation notes (8)
- Revelation 19:1a 'Hallelujah' reflects Greek hallelouia, which transliterates Hebrew halelu-yah (הַלְלוּ־יָה), 'praise Yah'; Yah is the short form of the divine name. In the New Testament this acclamation occurs only in Revelation (19:1, 3, 4, 6).
- Revelation 19:8a The Greek parenthetical comment is an interpretive gloss on byssinon, 'fine linen,' explaining it as ta dikaiomata ton hagion, 'the righteous deeds of the saints.'
- Revelation 19:10a The phrase hē martyria Iēsou (ἡ μαρτυρία Ἰησοῦ), 'the testimony of Jesus', is grammatically ambiguous: the genitive may mean the testimony borne by Jesus or the testimony believers give about him. The rendering preserves the ambiguity, which many interpreters take to be deliberate, since both senses fit the book's portrayal of prophecy as witness.
- Revelation 19:12a Greek diadēmata (διαδήματα) polla means 'many royal crowns.' This term contrasts with stephanoi (στέφανοι), 'victory wreaths', indicating kingly diadems rather than athletic laurels.
- Revelation 19:13a The participle bebammenon (βεβαμμένον), 'dipped', is the reading of Codex Alexandrinus; Codex Sinaiticus attests a form meaning 'sprinkled'. Either reading evokes Isaiah 63:1-3, where the divine warrior's garments are stained with the blood of his enemies, an image striking here because the battle has not yet begun. The title logos, 'word', recalls John 1:1.
- Revelation 19:15a Greek poimanei (ποιμανεῖ), literally 'he will shepherd', is rendered here as 'rule', echoing the Septuagint of Psalm 2:9, where the same verb reflects a Hebrew form the Masoretic Text points as 'you will break'. John thus applies the psalm's royal promise to the Messiah, joining the shepherd's staff to the image of an iron scepter of judgment over the nations.
- Revelation 19:17a Greek mesouranēma (μεσουράνημα), 'midheaven', denotes the sun's zenith, where the birds circle in full view of all the earth; the same word describes the flying eagle of Revelation 8:13. The summons to carrion birds echoes Ezekiel 39:17-20, where they are called to a sacrificial feast on the fallen armies of Gog, here transposed onto the defeat of the beast and the kings of the earth.
- Revelation 19:18a Greek chiliarchōn, literally 'commanders of a thousand', is rendered here as 'generals'; in the Roman period the term designated a military tribune. The catalogue of victims echoes Ezekiel 39:17-20, where birds and beasts are summoned to a sacrificial feast on the flesh of warriors, princes, and horses after the defeat of Gog.
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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