New Living Translation
Revelation 20:12
12I 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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.
Context of Revelation 20:12
10Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 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. 13The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.
Read all of Revelation 20Revelation 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 20:11And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.
- Daniel 12:2Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.
- John 5:28Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son,
- John 11:25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
- Acts 24:15I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous.
- 1 Corinthians 15:21So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
- Revelation 19:5And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”
- Romans 14:10So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
- Daniel 7:10and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.
- Revelation 3:5All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
- Revelation 13:8And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.
- Revelation 17:8The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.
- Revelation 21:27Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—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
In the dictionaries
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
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