Revelation 5
The full text of Revelation 5 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"
3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.
4 I wept and wept, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.
5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one seated on the throne.
8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one held a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's holy people.
9 And they sang a new song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation."
10 You have made them a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.
12 In a loud voice they were singing:
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
"To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"
14 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Translation notes (10)
- Revelation 5:1a Greek biblion (βιβλίον), 'scroll', written esothen kai opisthen, 'inside and on the back'—an unusual practice recalling the scroll of Ezekiel 2:10. Roman wills and legal documents were commonly secured with the seals of seven witnesses, a format the sevenfold sealing here would evoke, marking the scroll's contents as authoritative and inviolable until opened.
- Revelation 5:3a The triad 'in heaven, on earth, and under the earth' is a cosmological merism encompassing every realm, with 'under the earth' evoking the abode of the dead. Greek oudeis edynato (οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο), 'no one was able.' The verb blepein auto (βλέπειν αὐτό) means 'look at it'; rendered here as 'look inside it' to reflect the context of a sealed scroll.
- Revelation 5:4a The Greek imperfect eklaion, 'I was weeping', from klaio, 'weep', with the adverb polu, 'much', indicates ongoing action, rendered here as 'I wept and wept' to preserve its durative force.
- Revelation 5:5a Both titles are drawn from messianic prophecy: the Lion evokes Jacob's blessing of Judah in Genesis 49:9, and the Root of David recalls Isaiah 11:1, 10, where the shoot from Jesse's stock becomes a banner for the nations. The Greek verb enikesen, 'has triumphed', stands emphatically first in its clause, announcing the victory before the vision of the slain Lamb in the following verse reveals its manner.
- Revelation 5:6a The Greek arnion, 'lamb', is John's consistent title for Christ throughout Revelation, distinct from the amnos of John 1:29. The perfect participles hestekos hos esphagmenon, 'standing as though slain', hold both states together: the Lamb bears the abiding marks of slaughter yet stands alive. The elder announces a Lion; John turns and sees a Lamb, redefining conquest as sacrificial death.
- Revelation 5:8a The kithara (κιθάρα), 'harp' or 'lyre', and phialai chrysai, 'golden bowls', evoke the worship of the Jerusalem temple, where Levites played stringed instruments and priests offered incense in shallow golden vessels. The identification of incense with prayer draws on Psalm 141:2, where prayer rises before God like incense.
- Revelation 5:9a Some manuscripts read 'purchased us for God.' However, the earliest manuscripts lack the word 'us' here.
- Revelation 5:10a Some manuscripts read 'they reign on the earth.'
- Revelation 5:11a Greek myriades myriadon kai chiliades chiliadon, 'myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands' (μυριάδες μυριάδων καὶ χιλιάδες χιλιάδων), literally expresses an innumerable host; myrias can mean 'ten thousand' or, idiomatically, 'countless'. Rendered here as 'thousands upon thousands' and 'ten thousand times ten thousand' to create rising emphasis and to recall Daniel 7:10.
- Revelation 5:13a The Greek phrase pan ktisma, 'every created thing,' indicates the universality of this worship. The fourfold list of realms, including epi tēs thalassēs, 'on the sea,' encompasses all of creation, echoing Old Testament portrayals of God's sovereignty.
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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