Revelation 20:2

Revelation 20:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
• New International Version (NIV)He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
• New King James Version (NKJV)He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

Context of Revelation 20:2

1And I saw an angel descending from the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent who is [the] devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3and cast him into the abyss, and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, that he should not any more deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be loosed for a little time. 4And I saw thrones; and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and the souls of those beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus, and on account of the word of God; and those who had not done homage to the beast nor to his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and hand; and they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years:

Revelation 20:2 word by word

καὶ ἐκράτησεν τὸν δράκοντα, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὅς ἐστιν διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς. καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν χίλια ἔτηRead the interlinear

• laidκρατέωkrateō · to grasp/seizeG2902
• dragonδράκωνdrakōn · dragonG1404
• ancientἀρχαῖοςarchaios · ancientG744
• serpentὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
• SatanΣατανᾶςSatanas · SatanG4567
• boundδέωdeō · to bindG1210
• thousandχίλιοιchilioi · thousandG5507
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094

Cross-references for Revelation 20:2

• Genesis 3:15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt crush his heel.
• Isaiah 27:1In that day Jehovah, with his sore and great and strong sword, will visit leviathan the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
• Isaiah 49:24Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? and shall he that is rightfully captive be delivered?
• Matthew 8:29And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Son of God? hast thou come here before the time to torment us?
• Matthew 19:29And every one who has left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit life eternal.
• Mark 5:7and crying with a loud voice he says, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, torment me not.
• Luke 11:20But if by the finger of God I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come upon you.
• John 12:31Now is [the] judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out:
• John 16:11of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
• Romans 16:20But the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you.
• Hebrews 2:14Since therefore the children partake of blood and flesh, he also, in like manner, took part in the same, that through death he might annul him who has the might of death, that is, the devil;
• Revelation 9:11They have a king over them, the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in Greek he has [for] name Apollyon.
• Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he who is called Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole habitable world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
• Revelation 13:2And the beast which I saw was like to a leopardess, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as a lion's mouth; and the dragon gave to it his power, and his throne, and great authority;
• Job 1:7And Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
• Job 2:1And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.

Commentaries on Revelation 20:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The dragon - See the notes on Revelation 12:9. That old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan - He who is called the old serpent is the Devil - the calumniator, and Satan - the opposer. He who supposes that the term old serpent here plainly proves that the creature that tempted our first parents was actually a snake, must enjoy his opinion; and those who can receive such a saying, why let them receive it. Selah. A thousand years - In what this binding of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2And he laid hold on - Seized him by violence - ̓́ ekratēsenThe word denotes “the employment of strength” or “force”; and it implies that he had power superior to that of the dragon. Compare Matthew 14:3; Matthew 18:28; Matthew 21:46; Matthew 22:6; Matthew 26:4. We can at once see the propriety of the use of this word in this connection. The great enemy to be bound has himself mighty power, and can be overcome only by a superior. This may teach us that it…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2Like the Old Testament angel of the LORD (see Genesis 16:7–11; 22:15; Exodus 3:2; Numbers 22:22–34; Judges 2:1–4; 6:11–22), the angel coming down from heaven has God's authority. This is symbolized by the key that controls the bottomless pit and the power to chain God's great enemy (see Revelation 12:7–9) for a thousand years. See the "The Thousand Years (The Millennium)" Theme Note.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. that old--ancient serpent (Re 12:9). thousand years--As seven mystically implies universality, so a thousand implies perfection, whether in good or evil [Aquinas on ch. 11]. Thousand symbolizes that the world is perfectly leavened and pervaded by the divine; since thousand is ten, the number of the world, raised to the third power, three being the number of God [Auberlen]. It may denote literally also a thousand years.Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 20:2

• Dragon
• Millennium
• Satan
• Vision
• Year

In the dictionaries

• Satan
• Satan, devil, evil one
• Dragon
• Millennium
• Seal
• Serpent
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Law, Judicial
• Print; Printing; Printed
• Revelation of John

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