^20:11Then²⁹ I saw a large³⁰ white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven³¹ fled³² from his presence, and no place was found for them. ^20:12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then³³ books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life.³⁴ So³⁵ the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.³⁶

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Footnotes

29 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
30 Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.
31 Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.
32 Or “vanished.” The phrase the earth and the heaven fled from his presence can be understood (1) as visual imagery representing the fear of corruptible matter in the presence of God, but (2) it can also be understood more literally as the dissolution of the universe as we know it in preparation for the appearance of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1).
33 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
34 Grk “another book was opened, which is of life.”
35 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the books being opened.
36 Grk “from the things written in the books according to their works.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

NLTNew Living Translation

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And I saw a great white throne and the one who was seated on it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.

KJV 1900King James Version

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

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