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

1Then I saw an angel who was coming down from heaven. He was holding the key to the deep hole. He also held a great chain in his hand. He took hold of the dragon. That dragon is the Devil and Satan. He is the snake who has lived since long ago. The angel tied up the dragon with the chain for 1,000 years. 3Then he threw the dragon into the deep hole. He closed the door to the deep hole, and he locked it with the key. He put a seal on the door. During that time, Satan could no longer deceive the people of all nations. But after the 1,000 years have finished, he must go free for a short time. 4Then I saw some thrones, and I saw people who were sitting on them. These people had received authority to judge other people. I also saw the souls of people who had died because they served Jesus. People had cut off their heads because they had told the truth about Jesus, and they had spoken God's message. These believers had not worshipped the wild animal or his image. They had not received the wild animal's mark on their heads or on their hands. Now they became alive again. They ruled as kings together with Christ for 1,000 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• he laid hold onκρατέωkrateō · to grasp/seizeG2902
• the dragonδράκωνdrakōn · dragonG1404
• that oldἀρχαῖοςarchaios · ancientG744
• serpentὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the Devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
• SatanΣατανᾶςSatanas · SatanG4567
• boundδέωdeō · to bindG1210
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• a thousandχίλιοιchilioi · thousandG5507
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094

Cross-references for Revelation 20:2

• Genesis 3:15I will cause you and the woman to become enemies. Your descendants and her descendants will always be enemies. One of her descendants will attack your head. You will attack his heel.’
• Isaiah 27:1At that time, the Lord will punish Leviathan. The Lord will use his great and powerful sword to destroy that monster. Leviathan is a snake that moves very fast in the sea and it turns in every direction. But the Lord will kill it.
• Isaiah 49:24Can anyone rob a brave soldier? Can anyone rescue prisoners from a cruel ruler?’
• Matthew 8:29When the two men saw Jesus, they immediately shouted at him, ‘You are the Son of God! What are you doing here? Have you come to punish us before the right time comes?’
• Matthew 19:29Some people have left their homes. Or they may have left their brothers or sisters. Or they may have left their mother or their father. Or they may have left their wife or their children or their fields. They have done that because of me. God will give those people many more things than they have left behind, even 100 times more! And after they die, they will live for ever with God.
• Mark 5:7He screamed loudly, ‘Jesus, you are the Son of the Most High God! What are you doing here? Please, promise God that you will not hurt me.’
• Luke 11:20When I send bad spirits out of people, I use the power of God. This shows that God has come to rule among you.
• John 12:31It is time now for God to judge the people in this world. Now he will throw out the ruler of this world.
• John 16:11They are wrong about how God judges people, because God has already judged Satan, the ruler of this world.
• Romans 16:20God gives us peace in our minds. He will quickly help you to win against the power of Satan. I pray that our Lord Jesus will continue to be kind to you.
• Hebrews 2:14So, those people who become God's children are human. They have human bodies. Because of that, Jesus himself became human like us. In that way, when he died he was able to destroy the Devil. It is the Devil who has power over death.
• Revelation 9:11The king that ruled them was the angel of the deep hole. His name is ‘Abaddon’ in the Hebrew language. In the Greek language his name is ‘Apollyon’.
• Revelation 12:9Michael and his angels threw the great dragon out of heaven. The dragon is called the Devil or Satan. He is the snake who has been there since long ago. He tells lies to deceive the whole world. They threw him down to the earth, together with all his angels.
• Revelation 13:2The wild animal that I saw was like a leopard. But its feet were like a bear's feet and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave his own power and great authority to the wild animal so that it could rule as king.
• Job 1:7The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan replied, ‘I have been travelling all over the earth. I have been watching the things that happen there.’
• Job 2:1Another time, the angels came again to meet with the Lord. Satan also came with them to meet the Lord.

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