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 coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for 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

• And he laidκρατέωkrateō · to grasp/seizeG2902
• dragonδράκωνdrakōn · dragonG1404
• the serpentὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• of oldἀρχαῖοςarchaios · ancientG744
• whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• is the devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
• and SatanΣατανᾶςSatanas · SatanG4567
• boundδέωdeō · to bindG1210
• him for a thousandχίλιοιchilioi · thousandG5507
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094

Cross-references for Revelation 20:2

• Genesis 3:15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
• Isaiah 27:1In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
• Isaiah 49:24“Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”
• Matthew 8:29And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
• Matthew 19:29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
• Mark 5:7and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”
• Luke 11:20But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
• John 12:31Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
• John 16:11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
• Romans 16:20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
• Hebrews 2:14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
• Revelation 9:11They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
• Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
• Revelation 13:2And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
• Job 1:7The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
• Job 2:1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before 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