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Revelation 4:11

in Revelation 4

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created.

KJV

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

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This verse in Revelation 4

Commentary

13 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ticonius

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:11 · Written before 390.

We also know of another translation: "Because you have created all things, and they exist and are created on account of your will." Indeed, all things existed in the artful wisdom [of God] before they were formed in the act of creation. However, they were …

This site's exposition

give glory, honor, and thanks

on Revelation 4:9-11

Whenever the creatures give glory, the twenty-four elders fall down, laying their crowns before the throne. Their hymn praises God as Creator, for You created all things, while chapter 5 answers it with a hymn to the Lamb as Redeemer.

This site's exposition

by Your will they exist

The elders praise God as Creator, for You created all things. The last clause holds two verbs, by Your will they exist and came to be, so the same will that made all things holds them.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

Along with the holy living creatures, the elders give glory to God; the act of casting their crowns before God signifies that the crown is a symbol of victory and kingship. Casting them before the throne of God, the true and genuine kingdom and the …

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Alcuin of York

COMMENTARY ON REVELATION · Written before 804.

proposed

Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power, as if they were saying, "These things principally fit thee, from whom, by whom, and in whom is the glory, honor, and power of the saints." Yet, what is meant by …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

And through thy will they were - They began to be. It is to the free, gracious and powerfully- working will of Him who cannot possibly need anything that all things owe their first existence. And are created - That is, continue in being ever since they were created.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Two different objects of worship, either co-ordinate or sub-ordinate, would confound the worship and divide the worshippers. It is unlawful to join in divine worship with those who either mistake or multiply the object. There is but one God, and he alone, as God, is worshipped by the church on earth and in heaven.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

(2.) He is the preserver of all things, and his preservation is a continual creation; they are created still by the sustaining power of God. All beings but God are dependent upon the will and power of God, and no dependent being must be set up as an object of religious worship. It is the part of the best dependent beings to be worshippers, not to be worshipped.
5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory honour, and power,....

The Nineteenth Century4 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

With God to will is to effect: to determine is to perform. So in Ge 1:3, "Let there be light, and there was light": in Hebrew an expressive tautology, the same word and tense and letters being used for "let there be," and "there was," marking the simultaneity and identity of the will and the effect.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

A simultaneous giving of glory on the part of the beasts, and on the part of the elders. give--"shall give" in one oldest manuscript. for ever and ever--Greek, "unto the ages of the ages."

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive - Thus all creation acknowledges the supremacy of God; and we learn from this song that he made all things for his pleasure; and through the same motive he preserves. Hence it is most evident, that he hateth nothing that he has made, and could have made no intelligent creature with the design to make it eternally miserable. It is strange that a contrary supposition has ever entered into the heart of man; and it is high time that the benevolent nature of the Supreme God should be fully vindicated from aspersions of this kind.
Thou art worthy, O Lord - In thy character, perfections, and government, there is what makes it proper that universal praise should be rendered. The feeling of all true worshippers is, that (God is worthy of the praise that is ascribed to him. No man worships him aright who does not feel that there is that in his nature and his doings which makes it proper that he should receive universal adoration. To receive glory - To have praise or glory ascribed to thee.

The words behind it

30 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.201 worksColossians 1:16–17For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.72 worksMatthew 6:9So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.66 worksJohn 1:3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.53 worksRevelation 5:12In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”48 worksIsaiah 40:28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.44 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Hebrews 1:3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.40 worksProverbs 16:4The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.38 worksJohn 1:1–3In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.34 worksJeremiah 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!29 worksRevelation 10:6And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it: “There will be no more delay!27 worksRevelation 14:7And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”25 worksRevelation 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.24 worksRomans 11:36For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.24 worksPsalms 29:1–2Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.23 worksHebrews 1:10And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.23 worksPsalms 24:7Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may enter!19 worksHebrews 11:3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.19 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 40:28

    Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching…

    it leads to

    • Romans 11:33–34

      O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

    • Psalms 147:5

      Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.

    • 1 Timothy 1:17

      Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

    • Isaiah 55:8–9

      “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

    • Philippians 1:6

      being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

  • Through

    Revelation 5:12

    In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

    it leads to

    • Revelation 5:9

      And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and…

    • Revelation 19:1

      After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!

  • Through

    Proverbs 16:4

    The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.

    it leads to

    • Romans 9:22

      What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 4 →
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alcuin of York, COMMENTARY ON REVELATION; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation; Ticonius, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:11 and Ticonius, Commentary on the Apocalypse.

Read on in Revelation 4 →