Revelation 6:9 BSB — MannaFest

Revelation 6:9

And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

KJV

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

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Commentary

5 voices

Tertullian

Scorpiace (220)

Who, pray, are these so blessed conquerors, but martyrs in the strict sense of the word? For indeed theirs are the victories whose also are the fights; theirs, however, are the fights whose also is the blood. But the souls of the martyrs both peacefully rest in the meantime under the altar, and support their patience by the assured hope of revenge; and, clothed in their robes, wear the dazzling halo of brightness, until others also may fully share in their glory.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And when he had opened the fifth seal,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; here is no beast speaking here, nor horse and rider presented to view; it was now a very dark time both with respect to the church of God and ministry of the word, and the Roman empire.

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

These all refer to the invisible world; the fifth, to the happy dead, particularly the martyrs; the sixth, to the unhappy; the seventh, to the angels, especially those to whom the trumpets are given. And I saw - Not only the church warring under Christ, and the world warring under Satan; but also the invisible hosts, both of heaven and hell, are described in this book.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

A noble cause, the best that any man can lay down his life for--faith in God's word and a confession of that faith. The cry he heard; it was a loud cry, and contained a humble expostulation about the long delay of avenging justice against their enemies: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

For souls are not naturally visible. under the altar--As the blood of sacrificial victims slain on the altar was poured at the bottom of the altar, so the souls of those sacrificed for Christ's testimony are symbolically represented as under the altar, in heaven; for the life or animal soul is in the blood, and blood is often represented as crying for vengeance (Ge 4:10).

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

25 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Καὶ	Kai	And	G2532 →
ὅτε	hote	when	G3753 →
ἤνοιξεν	ēnoixen	He opened	G455 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
πέμπτην	pemptēn	fifth	G3991 →
σφραγῖδα,	sphragida	seal,	G4973 →
εἶδον	eidon	I saw	G1492 →
ὑποκάτω	hupokatō	under	G5270 →
τοῦ	tou	the	G3588 →
θυσιαστηρίου	thusiastēriou	altar	G2379 →
τὰς	tas	the	G3588 →
ψυχὰς	psuchas	souls	G5590 →
τῶν	tōn	of those	G3588 →
ἐσφαγμένων	esphagmenōn	slain	G4969 →
διὰ	dia	because of	G1223 →
τὸν	ton	the	G3588 →
λόγον	logon	word	G3056 →
τοῦ	tou	<the>	G3588 →
θεοῦ	theou	of God	G2316 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
διὰ	dia	because of	G1223 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
μαρτυρίαν	marturian	testimony	G3141 →
ἣν	hēn	which	G3739 →
εἶχον.	eichon	they were upholding.	G2192 →

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
Revelation 20:4
Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for…
leads to
- Daniel 7:27
  Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all…
- Daniel 7:18
  But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’
- Matthew 19:28
  Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve…
- 1 Corinthians 6:2–3
  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
- 2 Timothy 2:12
  if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
Through
John 16:2
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
leads to
- John 9:22
  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
- Acts 26:9–11
  So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Through
Revelation 1:9
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.
leads to
- Acts 14:22
  strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

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The Intermediate State

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On Revelation 6:9

The Altar

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Walks through Revelation 6

Revelation, the Canon's Closing Scroll, MannaFest

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Walks through Revelation 6

The Seals, Trumpets and Bowls

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About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Revelation: the study guide →Read chapter 6 →The featured study →

Continue: Revelation 6 →

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