And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
Parallel translations
- WEB A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!”
- BSB Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”
- NKJV Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
- NASB And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”
- NLT And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.”
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
A voice from the throne calls all God's servants, small and great, to praise Him. Worship belongs to every believer.
Overview
The summons goes out to the whole company of God's people, regardless of status, to give Him praise. By including 'the small and the great,' it levels all distinctions before God. The verse invites the entire church into the heavenly chorus, anticipating the celebration that follows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 134:1Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
- Ps 148:11–13Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
- Ps 150:6Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
- Ps 135:1Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.
- Rev 7:15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
- Rev 11:18–19And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
- Ps 135:19–20Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron:
- Ps 22:23Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
- Ps 103:20–22Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
- Rev 20:12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
- Rev 16:17And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:5 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.