Revelation 20:3

Revelation 20:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
• New International Version (NIV)He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Context of Revelation 20:3

1And then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand. 2And he overpowered and laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times], who is the devil and Satan, and bound him [securely] for a thousand years (a millennium); and the angel hurled him into the abyss, and closed it and sealed it above him [preventing his escape or rescue], so that he would no longer deceive and seduce the nations, until the thousand years were at an end. After these things he must be liberated for a short time. 4And then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom judgment [that is, the authority to act as judges] was given. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had refused to worship the beast or his image, and had not accepted his mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead [the non-believers] did not come to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

Revelation 20:3 word by word

καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ ἔκλεισεν καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ πλανήσῃ ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη. μετὰ ταῦτα δεῖ λυθῆναι αὐτὸν μικρὸν χρόνον.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• castβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the bottomless pitἄβυσσοςabussos · abyssG12
• shutκλείωkleiō · to shutG2808
• set a sealσφραγίζωsphragizō · to sealG4972
• uponἐπάνωepanō · aboveG1883
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• he should deceiveπλανάωplanaō · to lead astrayG4105
• the nationsἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• noμήmē · notG3361
• moreἔτιeti · stillG2089
• tillἄχριachri achris · untilG891
• the thousandχίλιοιchilioi · thousandG5507
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
• should be fulfilledτελέωteleō · to finishG5055
• afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• must beδεῖdei · be necessaryG1163
• loosedλύωluō · to looseG3089
• a littleμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• seasonχρόνοςchronos · timeG5550

Cross-references for Revelation 20:3

• Revelation 20:1And then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand.
• Revelation 17:8“The beast that you saw was [once], but [now] is not, and he is about to come up out of the abyss (the bottomless pit, the dwelling place of demons) and go to destruction (perdition). And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast, because he was and is not and is yet to come [to earth].
• Daniel 6:17A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed concerning Daniel.
• Matthew 27:66So they went and made the tomb secure, and along with [stationing] a guard of soldiers [to be on watch] they set a seal on the stone.
• Revelation 20:8and will come out to deceive and mislead the nations which are in the four corners of the earth—[including] Gog and Magog—to gather them together for the war; their number is like the sand of the seashore.
• Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
• Revelation 13:14And he deceives those [unconverted ones] who inhabit the earth [into believing him] because of the signs which he is given [by Satan] to perform in the presence of the [first] beast, telling those who inhabit the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded [fatally] by the sword and has come back to life.
• Revelation 16:14for they are [actually] the spirits of demons, performing [miraculous] signs. And they go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
• Revelation 17:2she with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
• Matthew 24:24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).
• 2 Corinthians 11:3But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies],
• Psalms 90:4For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, Or as a watch in the night.
• 2 Peter 3:8Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.
• Revelation 20:7And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison (the abyss),

Commentaries on Revelation 20:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3He should deceive the nations no more - Be unable to blind men with superstition and idolatry as he had formerly done.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3And cast him into the bottomless pit - See the notes on Revelation 9:1. A state of peace and prosperity would exist as if Satan, the great disturber, were confined in the nether world as a prisoner. And shut him up - Closed the massive doors of the dark prison-house upon him. Compare the notes on Job 10:21-22. And set a seal upon him - Or, rather, “upon it” - ̓́ ̓͂ epanō autouThe seal was placed upon the “door” or “gate” of the prison, not because this…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3This imprisonment, described as a bottomless pit (Abyss), represents an initial defeat for Satan and the forces of evil. Various New Testament passages explain how Christ's work impacts Satan (Luke 10:17–20; Acts 10:38; 26:18; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 6:11; James 4:7; see Matthew 12:24; 16:19; 18:18; John 12:31; 1 John 3:8). Christ's presence with his followers restrains evil powers (see 2 Thessalonians 2:7), reminding persecuted Christians that they have…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. shut him--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas omit "him." set a seal upon him--Greek, "over him," that is, sealed up the door of the abyss over his head. A surer seal to keep him from getting out than his seal over Jesus in the tomb of Joseph, which was burst on the resurrection morn. Satan's binding at' this juncture is not arbitrary, but is the necessary consequence of the events (Re 19:20); just as Satan's being cast out of heaven, where he had…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 20:3

• Millennium
• Pit
• Satan
• Vision
• Year

In the dictionaries

• Bottomless, Pit
• Millennium
• Pit
• Seal
• Abyss
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Parousia
• Print; Printing; Printed
• Revelation of John
• Satan

Commentaries on Revelation 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings