American Standard Version
Revelation 20:12
12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which isthe bookof life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Context of Revelation 20:12
10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place 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 isthe bookof life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, eventhe lake of fire.
Read all of Revelation 20Revelation 20:12 word by word
καὶ εἶδον τοὺς νεκρούς, τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ τοὺς μικρούς, ἑστῶτας ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, καὶ βιβλία ἠνοίχθησαν. καὶ ἄλλο βιβλίον ἠνοίχθη ὅ ἐστιν τῆς ζωῆς. καὶ ἐκρίθησαν οἱ νεκροὶ ἐκ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.Read the interlinear
- sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- deadνεκρόςnekros · deadG3498
- greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- smallμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
- standingἵστημιhistēmi · to standG2476
- throneθρόνοςthronos · throneG2362
- booksβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
- wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
- lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
- judgedκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
- thingsὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- accordingκατάkata · according toG2596
- worksἔργονergon · workG2041
Cross-references for Revelation 20:12
- Revelation 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
- Daniel 12:2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- John 5:28Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice,
- John 11:25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live;
- Acts 24:15having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust.
- 1 Corinthians 15:21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.
- Revelation 19:5And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great.
- Romans 14:10But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
- Daniel 7:10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
- Revelation 3:5He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
- Revelation 13:8And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain.
- Revelation 17:8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come.
- Revelation 21:27and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Commentaries on Revelation 20:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The dead, small and great - All ranks, degrees, and conditions of men. This description seems to refer to Daniel 7:9, Daniel 7:10. And the books were opened - See Daniel 12:1. "Rab. Jehuda said: All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are written in a book, and of all they shall give account." - Sohar Gen., fol. 79, col. 298. "How careful should men be to shun vice, and to act uprightly before the holy blessed God, seeing there are so many which go…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And I saw the dead, small and great - All the dead - for this language would express that - the whole race being composed of the “small and great.” Thus, in other language, the same idea might be expressed by saying, the young and old; the rich and poor; the bond and free; the sick and well; the happy and the unhappy; the righteous and the wicked; for all the human family might, in these respects, be considered as thus divided. The fair meaning in this…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-15Verses 11-15 After the events just foretold, the end will speedily come; and there is no mention of any thing else, before the appearing of Christ to judge the world. This will be the great day: the Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, will then put on majesty and terror. The persons to be judged are the dead, small and great; young and old, low and high, poor and rich. None are so mean, but they have some talents to account for; and none so great, as to avoid…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12books were opened: See Psalm 56:8; Daniel 7:10. The Book of Life contains the names of faithful people who have experienced God's saving power (Malachi 3:16; see Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15). They are likely the same ones who experience the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5–6). the dead were judged: The works of both the redeemed and the unredeemed will be judged (see Revelation 22:12; Matthew 16:27; 25:31–46).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. the dead--"the rest of the dead" who did not share the first resurrection, and those who died during the millennium. small and great--B has "the small and the great." A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas have "the great and the small." The wicked who had died from the time of Adam to Christ's second advent, and all the righteous and wicked who had died during and after the millennium, shall then have their eternal portion assigned to them. The godly who…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 20:12
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries