Revelation 20:12

Revelation 20:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
• New Living Translation (NLT)I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

Context of Revelation 20:12

10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

Revelation 20:12 word by word

καὶ εἶδον τοὺς νεκρούς, τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ τοὺς μικρούς, ἑστῶτας ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, καὶ βιβλία ἠνοίχθησαν. καὶ ἄλλο βιβλίον ἠνοίχθη ὅ ἐστιν τῆς ζωῆς. καὶ ἐκρίθησαν οἱ νεκροὶ ἐκ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• I sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• the deadνεκρόςnekros · deadG3498
• smallμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• standἵστημιhistēmi · to standG2476
• beforeἐνώπιονenōpion · beforeG1799
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• the booksβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
• were openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
• anotherἄλλοςallos · anotherG243
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• of lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• were judgedκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
• out ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• which were writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• according toκατάkata · according toG2596
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041

Cross-references for Revelation 20:12

• Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
• Daniel 12:2Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
• John 5:28“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
• John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
• Acts 24:15and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
• 1 Corinthians 15:21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:15According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
• Revelation 19:5Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!”
• Romans 14:10You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
• 1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
• 2 Corinthians 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
• Daniel 7:10A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
• Revelation 3:5The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
• Revelation 13:8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
• Revelation 17:8The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
• Revelation 21:27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Commentaries on Revelation 20:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The dead, small and great - All ranks, degrees, and conditions of men. This description seems to refer to Daniel 7:9, Daniel 7:10. And the books were opened - See Daniel 12:1. "Rab. Jehuda said: All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are written in a book, and of all they shall give account." - Sohar Gen., fol. 79, col. 298. "How careful should men be to shun vice, and to act uprightly before the holy blessed God, seeing there are so many which go…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And I saw the dead, small and great - All the dead - for this language would express that - the whole race being composed of the “small and great.” Thus, in other language, the same idea might be expressed by saying, the young and old; the rich and poor; the bond and free; the sick and well; the happy and the unhappy; the righteous and the wicked; for all the human family might, in these respects, be considered as thus divided. The fair meaning in this…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-15Verses 11-15 After the events just foretold, the end will speedily come; and there is no mention of any thing else, before the appearing of Christ to judge the world. This will be the great day: the Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, will then put on majesty and terror. The persons to be judged are the dead, small and great; young and old, low and high, poor and rich. None are so mean, but they have some talents to account for; and none so great, as to avoid…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12books were opened: See Psalm 56:8; Daniel 7:10. The Book of Life contains the names of faithful people who have experienced God's saving power (Malachi 3:16; see Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15). They are likely the same ones who experience the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5–6). the dead were judged: The works of both the redeemed and the unredeemed will be judged (see Revelation 22:12; Matthew 16:27; 25:31–46).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. the dead--"the rest of the dead" who did not share the first resurrection, and those who died during the millennium. small and great--B has "the small and the great." A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas have "the great and the small." The wicked who had died from the time of Adam to Christ's second advent, and all the righteous and wicked who had died during and after the millennium, shall then have their eternal portion assigned to them. The godly who…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 20:12

• Book
• Death
• Judgment
• Millennium
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Book of Life
• Judgment, The final
• Seal
• Dead
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Geba
• Immortal; Immortality
• Print; Printing; Printed

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