Revelation 20:3

Revelation 20:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
• New International Version (NIV)He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

Context of Revelation 20:3

1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

Revelation 20:3 word by word

καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ ἔκλεισεν καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ πλανήσῃ ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη. μετὰ ταῦτα δεῖ λυθῆναι αὐτὸν μικρὸν χρόνον.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• castβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the bottomless pitἄβυσσοςabussos · abyssG12
• shutκλείωkleiō · to shutG2808
• set a sealσφραγίζωsphragizō · to sealG4972
• uponἐπάνωepanō · aboveG1883
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• he should deceiveπλανάωplanaō · to lead astrayG4105
• the nationsἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• noμήmē · notG3361
• moreἔτιeti · stillG2089
• tillἄχριachri achris · untilG891
• the thousandχίλιοιchilioi · thousandG5507
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
• should be fulfilledτελέωteleō · to finishG5055
• afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• must beδεῖdei · be necessaryG1163
• loosedλύωluō · to looseG3089
• a littleμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• seasonχρόνοςchronos · timeG5550

Cross-references for Revelation 20:3

• Revelation 20:1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
• Revelation 17:8The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
• Daniel 6:17And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.
• Matthew 27:66So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
• Revelation 20:8and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
• Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
• Revelation 13:14and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
• Revelation 16:14For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
• Revelation 17:2with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk."
• Matthew 24:24For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
• 2 Corinthians 11:3But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
• Psalms 90:4For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
• 2 Peter 3:8But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
• Revelation 20:7And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison

Commentaries on Revelation 20:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3He should deceive the nations no more - Be unable to blind men with superstition and idolatry as he had formerly done.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3And cast him into the bottomless pit - See the notes on Revelation 9:1. A state of peace and prosperity would exist as if Satan, the great disturber, were confined in the nether world as a prisoner. And shut him up - Closed the massive doors of the dark prison-house upon him. Compare the notes on Job 10:21-22. And set a seal upon him - Or, rather, “upon it” - ̓́ ̓͂ epanō autouThe seal was placed upon the “door” or “gate” of the prison, not because this…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3This imprisonment, described as a bottomless pit (Abyss), represents an initial defeat for Satan and the forces of evil. Various New Testament passages explain how Christ's work impacts Satan (Luke 10:17–20; Acts 10:38; 26:18; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 6:11; James 4:7; see Matthew 12:24; 16:19; 18:18; John 12:31; 1 John 3:8). Christ's presence with his followers restrains evil powers (see 2 Thessalonians 2:7), reminding persecuted Christians that they have…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. shut him--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas omit "him." set a seal upon him--Greek, "over him," that is, sealed up the door of the abyss over his head. A surer seal to keep him from getting out than his seal over Jesus in the tomb of Joseph, which was burst on the resurrection morn. Satan's binding at' this juncture is not arbitrary, but is the necessary consequence of the events (Re 19:20); just as Satan's being cast out of heaven, where he had…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 20:3

• Millennium
• Pit
• Satan
• Vision
• Year

In the dictionaries

• Bottomless, Pit
• Millennium
• Pit
• Seal
• Abyss
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Parousia
• Print; Printing; Printed
• Revelation of John
• Satan

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