Revelation 10:9 BSB

Revelation 10:9

And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

KJV

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

And I went unto the angel - This is symbolic action, and is not to be understood literally. As it is not necessary to suppose that an angel literally descended, and stood upon the sea and the land, so it is not necessary to suppose that there was a literal act of going to him, and taking the book from his hand and eating it. Give me the little book - In accordance with the command in Rev 10:

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Eat it up - The like was commanded to Ezekiel. This was an emblem of thoroughly considering and digesting it. And it will make thy belly bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in thy mouth - The sweetness betokens the many good things which follow, chap. xi, 1, 15, &c.; the bitterness, the evils which succeed under the third woe.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

His finding the roll sweet to the taste at first, is because it was the Lord's will he was doing, and because, divesting himself of carnal feeling, he regarded God's will as always agreeable, however bitter might be the message of judgment to be announced.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

32 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
ἀπῆλθα	apēltha	I went	G565 →
πρὸς	pros	to	G4314 →
τὸν	ton	the	G3588 →
ἄγγελον	angelon	angel	G32 →
λέγων	legōn	saying	G3004 →
αὐτῷ	autō	to him	G846 →
δοῦναί	dounai	to give	G1325 →
μοι	moi	me	G3165 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
βιβλαρίδιον.	biblaridion	little scroll.	G974 →
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
λέγει	legei	he says	G3004 →
μοι·	moi	to me;	G3165 →
λάβε	labe	do take	G2983 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
κατάφαγε	kataphage	do eat	G2719 →
αὐτό.	auto	it.	G846 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
πικρανεῖ	pikranei	it will make bitter	G4087 →
σου	sou	your	G4771 →
τὴν	tēn	<the>	G3588 →
κοιλίαν,	koilian	stomach,	G2836 →
ἀλλ᾽	all᾽	but	G235 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
τῷ	tō	the	G3588 →
στόματί	stomati	mouth	G4750 →
σου	sou	of you	G4771 →
ἔσται	estai	it will be	G1510 →
γλυκὺ	gluku	sweet	G1099 →
ὡς	hōs	as	G5613 →
μέλι.¶	meli	honey.	G3192 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
leads to
- Ezekiel 3:1–3
  “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Revelation 10:9–10
  And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as…
- Psalms 119:101–103
  I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word.
- Job 23:12
  I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
- Psalms 19:10
  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
Through
Job 23:12
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
leads to
- Jeremiah 15:16
  Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Psalms 119:11
  I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.
- Psalms 119:103
  How sweet are Your words to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth!

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On Revelation 10:9

The Scroll & the Book

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About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Revelation: the study guide →Read chapter 10 →The featured study →

Continue: Revelation 10 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Revelation

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Revelation