And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
- KJV And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
- NKJV And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
- NASB And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
- NLT The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”
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
The torment of beast-worshipers rises forever, with no rest. Final judgment on unrepentant idolatry is enduring and total.
Overview
The smoke ascending 'forever and ever' and the absence of rest depict the unending seriousness of judgment, echoing Isaiah 34's oracle against Edom. This stands in deliberate contrast to the rest promised the faithful dead (v.13). Faithful interpreters have long taken this as a sober warning meant to call sinners to repentance and steady the saints in endurance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 25
- Isa 34:10It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.
- Rev 19:3And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”
- Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Rev 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
- Isa 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
- Luke 16:23–24In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
- Mark 9:43–49If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
- Rev 14:9And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
- Rev 18:18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.
- Rev 5:13–14And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!”
- Gen 19:28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
- Exod 15:18The LORD will reign forever and ever!”
- Ps 10:16The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.
- Rev 11:15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
- Ps 145:1A Psalm of praise. Of David. I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever.
- Rev 7:12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
- Rev 4:8–10And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
- Heb 1:8But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
- Isa 57:20But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.
- Deut 28:65Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
- Rev 22:5There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
- Joel 2:30I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
- Rev 13:12And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
- Matt 11:28Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
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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 14:11 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
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