Revelation 5:4 BSB — MannaFest

Revelation 5:4

And I began to weep bitterly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look thereon:

KJV

And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

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Commentary

4 voices

Victorinus of Pettau

Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John (304)

"There was none found worthy to do this." Neither among the angels of heaven, nor among men in earth, nor among the souls of the saints in rest, save Christ the Son of God alone, whom he says that he saw as a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns. What had not been then announced, and what the law had contemplated for Him by its various oblations and sacrifices, it behoved Himself to fulfil.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And I wept much,.... Not so much on his own account, because he feared his curiosity would not be gratified, and that strong desire answered, which were raised in him upon sight of the book, and increased by the angel's proclamation; but for the sake of the church of God, whose representative he was, and to whom the knowledge of this book, and the things contained in it, he judged must be very useful and profitable.

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

And I wept much - A weeping which sprung from greatness of mind. The tenderness of heart which he always had appeared more clearly now he was out of his own power. The Revelation was not written without tears; neither without tears will it be understood.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

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

And I wept much, because no man was found worthy ... - Greek, as in Rev 5:3, no one. It would seem as if there was a pause to see if there were any response to the proclamation of the angel. There being none, John gave way to his deep emotions in a flood of tears.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

13 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
ἔκλαιον	eklaion	I was weeping	G2799 →
πολὺ	polu	much	G4183 →
ὅτι	hoti	because	G3754 →
οὐδεὶς	oudeis	no [one]	G3762 →
ἄξιος	axios	worthy	G514 →
εὑρέθη	heurethē	was found	G2147 →
ἀνοῖξαι	anoixai	to open	G455 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
βιβλίον	biblion	scroll	G975 →
οὔτε	oute	nor	G3777 →
βλέπειν	blepein	to see	G991 →
αὐτό.	auto	it.	G846 →

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 walk5

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
Revelation 4:1
After this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show…
leads to
- Revelation 11:12
  And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.
- Exodus 24:12
  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written…
- Revelation 1:19
  Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this.
- Revelation 1:10
  On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
- Mark 1:10
  As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

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Mazzaroth

Twelve constellation groupings; one biblical word (Job 38:32). Bullinger and Seiss read them as a gospel-arc; modern critics trace their figures to Albumazar, not Adam. The objections below are presented at full strength, and the founder's own slot on the page is his to fill.

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St John on Patmos (Bosch; photo Gemäldegalerie Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Revelation: the Study Guide

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About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

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Continue: Revelation 5 →

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