And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Parallel translations
- WEB His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.
- BSB His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.
- NKJV His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
- NASB His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
- NLT His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
His feet gleam like refined bronze and his voice roars like many waters. It matters because Christ stands in unshakable strength and commanding authority.
Overview
Burnished bronze refined in fire suggests stability, purity, and judgment, while the voice like many waters conveys overwhelming power and majesty. The imagery again draws on Daniel and Ezekiel's visions of God's glory. Christ is presented as mighty and sovereign over his churches and the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ezek 43:2And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
- Dan 10:6His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
- Rev 14:2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
- Rev 19:6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
- Rev 2:18And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
- Ps 93:4The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
- Ezek 1:7And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
- Ezek 40:3And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
- Isa 17:13The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 1:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.