He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father.
Parallel translations
- WEB He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father:
- KJV And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
- NKJV ‘Heshall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ — as I also have received from My Father;
- NASB and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father;
- NLT They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.
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 overcomer will rule the nations with a rod of iron, as Christ received from his Father. It matters because believers share in the messianic authority Christ won.
Overview
Continuing the quotation of Psalm 2, this pictures decisive, righteous rule over the nations. Christ received this authority from the Father and shares it with his people. The promise assures persevering believers of vindication and participation in Christ's victorious reign.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 2:8–9Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
- Rev 12:5And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
- Rev 19:15And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
- Isa 30:14It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”
- Matt 11:27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
- Luke 22:29And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me,
- Ps 149:5–9Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- John 17:24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
- Jer 19:11and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.
- Ps 49:14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
- Dan 7:22until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
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 2:27 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.