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.”
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!”
- KJV 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.
- 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.”
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 134:1A Song of Ascents. Look! Praise Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh, who stand by night in Yahweh’s house!
- Ps 148:11–13kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth;
- Ps 150:6Let everything that has breath praise Yah! Praise Yah!
- Ps 135:1Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh’s name! Praise him, you servants of Yahweh,
- Rev 7:15Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them.
- Rev 11:18–19The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
- Ps 135:19–20House of Israel, praise Yahweh! House of Aaron, praise Yahweh!
- Ps 22:23You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!
- Ps 103:20–22Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.
- Rev 20:12I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
- Rev 16:17The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came 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.