Revelation 11:9

Revelation 11:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
• New International Version (NIV)For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.

Context of Revelation 11:9

7When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified. For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb. 10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them. 11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them.

Revelation 11:9 word by word

καὶ βλέπουσιν ἐκ τῶν λαῶν καὶ φυλῶν καὶ γλωσσῶν καὶ ἐθνῶν τὸ πτῶμα αὐτῶν ἡμέρας τρεῖς καὶ ἥμισυ, καὶ τὰ πτώματα αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀφίουσιν τεθῆναι εἰς μνῆμα.Read the interlinear

• ·καίkai · andG2532
• For threeτρεῖςtreis tria · ThreeG5140
• a halfἥμισυςhēmisu · halfG2255
• daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• allἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• peoplesλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
• tribesφυλήphulē · tribeG5443
• tonguesγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• nationsἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• will viewβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• bodiesπτῶμαptōma · corpseG4430
• will not permitοὐou · noG3756
• will not permitἀφίημιaphiēmi · to release: permitG863
• to be laidτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
• inεἰςeis · towardG1519
• a tombμνῆμαmnēma · tombG3418

Cross-references for Revelation 11:9

• Revelation 10:11And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
• Revelation 13:7Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
• Revelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
• Revelation 11:2But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
• Revelation 5:8When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
• Revelation 19:17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
• Psalms 79:2They have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
• Ecclesiastes 6:3A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
• Isaiah 33:1Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
• Jeremiah 7:33The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
• Matthew 7:2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Commentaries on Revelation 11:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves - They shall be treated with the greatest barbarity. Refusal of burial to the dead was allowed to be the sum of brutality and cruelty. In popish lands they will not suffer a Protestant to have Christian burial, or to have a grave in a churchyard! Contemptible wretches!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And they of the people - Some of the people; a part of the people - ̓ ͂ ͂ ek tōn laōnThe language is such as would be employed to describe a scene where a considerable portion of a company of people should be referred to, without intending to include all. The essential idea is, that there would be an assemblage of different classes of people to whom their carcasses would be exposed, and that they would come and look upon them. We should expect to find…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-13Verses 3-13 In the time of treading down, God kept his faithful witnesses to attest the truth of his word and worship, and the excellence of his ways, The number of these witnesses is small, yet enough. They prophesy in sackcloth. It shows their afflicted, persecuted state, and deep sorrow for the abominations against which they protested. They are supported during their great and hard work, till it is done. When they had prophesied in sackcloth the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Leaving people's bodies out for public display was a way to dishonor them after death (see 1 Samuel 31:10; the usual Roman custom was to leave bodies hanging after crucifixion). peoples and tribes and tongues and nations: This phrase shows that all the peoples of the world are represented in this public display.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. they--rather, "(some) of the peoples." people--Greek, "peoples." kindreds--Greek, "tribes"; all save the elect (whence it is not said, The peoples ... but [some] of the peoples ... , or, some of the peoples ... may refer to those of the nations ..., who at the time shall hold possession of Palestine and Jerusalem). shall see--So Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic. But A, B, C, and Andreas, the present, "see," or rather (Greek, "blepousin"), "look upon." The…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 11:9

• Burial
• Martyrdom
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Body
• Burial
• Carcass; Carcase
• Corpse
• Kindred
• Revelation of John
• Sihon

Commentaries on Revelation 11

• 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