Revelation 20:9

Revelation 20:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
• New International Version (NIV)They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,
• New King James Version (NKJV)They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

Context of Revelation 20:9

7When the 1,000 years have finished, God will let Satan go free out of his prison. 8Satan will then go and deceive people in nations everywhere in the world. He will make them believe him. Those nations are God's enemies, Gog and Magog. Satan will bring them together to fight a war against God's people. Satan's army has many people, as much as the sand on the shore of the sea. I saw them as they marched over the whole earth. They arrived at the city which God loves. That is where God's people had made their camp. Satan's army made their camp all around the city. Then fire came down from heaven and it destroyed them completely. 10The Devil had deceived those people. I saw God throw him into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. That is the lake where he had already thrown the wild animal and the false prophet. They will have a lot of pain in that place, all day and all night for ever. 11Then I saw a great white throne. I saw that God was sitting on it. The earth and the sky rushed away from the place where he sat. There was no longer any place for them.

Revelation 20:9 word by word

καὶ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐκύκλευσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἠγαπημένην. καὶ κατέβη πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτούς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• they went upἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the breadthπλάτοςplatos · widthG4114
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• compassedκυκλόωkukloō · to surroundG2944
• the campπαρεμβολήparembolē · barracksG3925
• of the saintsἅγιοςhagios · holy: saintG40
• the belovedἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• cityπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
• fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• came downκαταβαίνωkatabainō · to come/go downG2597
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• out ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• devouredκατεσθίωkatesthiō · to devourG2719
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Revelation 20:9

• Isaiah 8:7So I will cause this to happen. I, the Lord God, will bring floods of water from the Euphrates river. That will be the king of Assyria and his powerful armies. They will come like a great river that rises high over its sides.
• Ezekiel 38:9Then you will attack them. You, with your armies and all the people with you, will attack them like a great storm. You will be like a dark cloud that covers the land.
• Habakkuk 1:6I will give more power to the Babylonians. They are a cruel nation with brave soldiers. They march across the whole earth. They take cities that do not belong to them.
• 2 Kings 6:15The servant of Elisha, the man of God, got up early the next morning. He went out and he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. He said to Elisha, ‘Oh! My master! What can we do?’
• Micah 2:13The person who breaks open the way will go in front of you. Then you will go out through the gate. I am the Lord, your king, and I will lead you out.’
• Matthew 16:16Simon Peter answered him. ‘You are the Messiah. You are the Son of God, the God who lives for ever.’
• Luke 19:43As a result, days of trouble will come to you. Your enemies will build a wall round you. They will shut you in completely, and they will not let you leave.
• Luke 21:20One day you will see Jerusalem with armies all around it. Then you will know that enemies will soon destroy that city.
• Psalms 48:1The Lord is great. He deserves that people praise him in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
• Psalms 74:2Remember that we are your people. Long ago you chose us for yourself. You rescued us from being slaves, so that we could be your special nation of people. So please think about us, as well as your home on Mount Zion.
• Psalms 125:1People who trust in the Lord are strong, like Mount Zion. Nothing can shake it. It will always be there.
• Hebrews 13:13Jesus died like that in a place where people insulted him. So we must go out to that place too. We must be ready for people to insult us, as they insulted him.
• Revelation 11:5If anyone tries to hurt them, fire comes out of the servants' mouths. This fire destroys their enemies. Anyone who wants to hurt the two servants must die in this way.
• Revelation 13:13The second wild animal did great miracles. It even caused fire to come down from heaven to the earth, while people watched.
• Genesis 19:24Then the Lord poured sulphur that was on fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah. It fell from the sky like rain.
• Exodus 9:23When Moses lifted up his stick towards the sky, the Lord sent a great storm. He sent thunder, hail and lightning.

Commentaries on Revelation 20:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The beloved city - Primarily, Jerusalem, typically, the Christian Church.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth - They spread over the earth in extended columns. The image is that of an invading army that seems, in its march, to spread all over a land. The reference here is to the hosts assembled from the regions of Gog and Magog; that is, to the formidable enemies of the gospel that would be roused up at the close of the period properly called the “millennial” period - the period of the thousand years. It is not…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-10Verses 7-10 While this world lasts, Satan's power in it will not be wholly destroyed, though it may be limited and lessened. No sooner is Satan let loose, than he again begins deceiving the nations, and stirring them up to make war with the saints and servants of God. It would be well if the servants and ministers of Christ were as active and persevering in doing good, as his enemies in doing mischief. God will fight this last and decisive battle for his…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9No battle happens (see Revelation 16:16–21; 19:19–21) because fire from heaven comes down and consumes them, just like in Sodom (Genesis 19:24; see also 2 Kings 1:10–12; Ezekiel 38:22–23; 39:6). God's enemies cannot stand against him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. on the breadth of the earth--so as completely to overspread it. Perhaps we ought to translate, "... of the [holy] land." the camp of the saints and the beloved city--the camp of the saints encircling the beloved city, Jerusalem (Ecclesiasticus 24:11). Contrast "hateful" in Babylon (Re 18:2; De 32:15, Septuagint). Ezekiel's prophecy of Gog and Magog (Eze 38:1-39:29) refers to the attack made by Antichrist on Israel before the millennium: but this attack…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 20:9

• Fire
• Millennium
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Seal
• Print; Printing; Printed
• Revelation of John
• Satan
• Urim and Thummim
• beloved
• saint

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