^19:10So¹⁸ I threw myself down¹⁹ at his feet to worship him, but²⁰ he said, “Do not do this!²¹ I am only²² a fellow servant²³ with you and your brothers²⁴ who hold to the testimony about²⁵ Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Son of God Goes to War

^19:11Then²⁶ I saw heaven opened and here came²⁷ a white horse! The²⁸ one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice²⁹ he judges and goes to war. ^19:12His eyes are like a fiery³⁰ flame and there are many diadem crowns³¹ on his head. He has³² a name written³³ that no one knows except himself. ^19:13He is dressed in clothing dipped³⁴ in blood, and he is called³⁵ the Word of God. ^19:14The³⁶ armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen,³⁷ were following him on white horses. ^19:15From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations.³⁸ He³⁹ will rule⁴⁰ them with an iron rod,⁴¹ and he stomps the winepress⁴² of the furious⁴³ wrath of God, the All-Powerful.⁴⁴^19:16He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

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Footnotes

18 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s announcement.
19 Grk “I fell down at his feet.” πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
20 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
21 On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή (hora mē) ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically … ὅρα μή ( λποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”
22 The lowliness of a slave is emphasized in the Greek text with the emphatic position of σύνδουλος (sundoulos). The use of “only” helps to bring this nuance out in English.
23 Grk “fellow slave.” See the note on the word “servants” in v. .
24 The Greek term “brother” literally refers to family relationships, but here it is used in a broader sense to connote familial relationships within the family of God (cf. ἀδελφός 2.a).
25 The genitive Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou) has been translated as an objective genitive here. A subjective genitive, also possible, would produce the meaning “who hold to what Jesus testifies.”
26 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
27 The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
28 A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
29 Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.
30 The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive (see also Rev 1:14).
31 For the translation of διάδημα (diadēma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196. Diadem crowns were a type of crown used as a symbol of the highest ruling authority in a given area, and thus often associated with kingship.
32 Grk “head, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
33 Although many translations supply a prepositional phrase to specify what the name was written on (“upon Him,” ; “on him,” ), there is no location for the name specified in the Greek text.
34 It appears that “dipped” (βεβαμμένον, bebammenon), supported by several uncials and other witnesses (A 051 𝔐), is the original reading. Due to the lack of the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) after the verb (βεβαμμένον αἵματι, bebammenon haimati), and also probably because of literary allusions to Isa 63:3, several and versions seem to have changed the text to “sprinkled” (either ῥεραντισμένον [rherantismenon] in P 2329 ; ἐρραντισμένον [errantismenon] in 1006 1841; ἐρραμμένον [errammenon] in 2053 2062; or ῥεραμμένον [rherammenon] in 1611; or in one case περιρεραμμένον [perirerammenon] in א[2]). The reading most likely to give rise to the others is “dipped.” Or perhaps “soaked.”
35 Grk “the name of him is called.”
36 Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
37 On the term translated “fine linen,” βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment … Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”
38 Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
39 Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
40 Grk “will shepherd.”
41 Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rhabdos) can mean either “rod” or “scepter.” A quotation from Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27, 12:5).
42 He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.
43 The genitive θυμοῦ (thumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (thumos) and ὀργή (orgē) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; 10:9).
44 On this word παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God … (ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π.… Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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 it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 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. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 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. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then 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 your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And I fell down before his feet to worship him, and he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and makes war. Now his eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head were many royal headbands having a name written that no one except he himself knows. And he was dressed in an outer garment dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies that are in heaven, dressed in clean, white fine linen, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it he could strike the nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the wine of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. And he has a name written on his outer garment and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

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