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And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Revelation 11:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
  • KJV And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
  • NKJV And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
  • NASB And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
  • NLT And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”

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

God grants two witnesses to prophesy 1,260 days in sackcloth. He maintains a faithful, mourning testimony throughout the age of trial.

Overview

The 1,260 days equal the same forty-two months, marking the whole period of the church's witness amid opposition. Sackcloth signifies a message of repentance and lament. The "two witnesses" (perhaps the witnessing church, pictured by two for valid testimony per Deuteronomy 19:15) carry on God's prophetic word despite hostility. Their identity is debated among faithful Christians, but the central point is clear: God always preserves a bold gospel witness in the world.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Rev 12:6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.
  • Rev 11:2But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
  • Deut 19:15A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
  • Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
  • Rev 13:5The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
  • Gen 37:34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
  • Isa 22:12On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
  • Acts 13:31and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.
  • Luke 24:48You are witnesses of these things.
  • John 15:27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
  • 2 Cor 13:1This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
  • Acts 2:32God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
  • 1 Chr 21:16When David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
  • Dan 12:7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”
  • Job 16:15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.
  • Esth 4:1–2When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
  • Num 11:26Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.
  • Lam 2:10The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
  • Acts 3:15You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.
  • Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
  • Matt 18:16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
  • Deut 17:6On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
  • Rev 19:10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
  • Eph 4:11And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
  • John 3:5–8Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
  • 1 Cor 12:28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
  • Rev 20:4Then 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 the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
  • John 3:27John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Revelation videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Revelation 11:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RevelationMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 11:3 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.