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And 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!”
Revelation 4:8 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”
  • KJV And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
  • NKJV The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
  • NASB And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
  • NLT Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

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 six-winged creatures, full of eyes, never cease declaring God thrice holy and eternal. Their song fixes God's holiness and timeless reign as the heartbeat of heaven.

Overview

The threefold 'Holy, holy, holy' comes from Isaiah 6 and expresses God's utter, unmatched holiness, fittingly voiced before the triune God. Calling Him 'who was and who is and who is to come' affirms His eternity and His certain coming in judgment and salvation. Unceasing worship is the proper response to such a God, and it sets the pattern for the church on earth.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 30

  • Isa 6:2–13Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
  • Rev 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
  • Heb 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
  • Rev 4:6And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.
  • Exod 15:11Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
  • Ezek 10:21–22Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
  • Rev 15:3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
  • Rev 16:7And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”
  • Ezek 1:6but each had four faces and four wings.
  • Rev 11:17saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
  • Ps 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
  • Gen 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
  • Rev 3:7To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.
  • Rev 7:15For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
  • Rev 21:22But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
  • Isa 62:6–7On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
  • Rev 1:4John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before 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.
  • 2 Cor 6:18And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
  • Rev 4:4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads.
  • Isa 13:6Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
  • Isa 62:1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
  • Joel 1:15Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
  • 2 Th 3:8–9nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
  • 1 Th 2:9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
  • Rev 14:11And 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.”
  • 2 Tim 4:2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.
  • Rev 16:14These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
  • 1 Tim 4:16Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
  • Acts 20:31Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 4:8YouTube · 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 4:8 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.