And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
Parallel translations
- WEB When the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever,
- BSB And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne who lives forever and ever,
- NKJV Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
- NASB And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,
- NLT Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever),
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
Whenever the living creatures give glory and thanks to the eternal God, a wider act of worship is set in motion. Their praise prompts the elders to respond.
Overview
This verse links the creatures' worship to the elders' answering homage in the verses that follow, picturing heaven's worship as responsive and unified. God is again named as the One 'who lives forever and ever,' stressing His self-existent, unending life. All glory, honor, and thanks flow rightly toward the One who is the source of all life and being.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rev 5:13–14And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
- Rev 7:11–12And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
- Rev 10:6And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
- Rev 15:7And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
- Ps 47:8God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
- Rev 1:18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
- Dan 4:34And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
- Ps 48:14For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
- Dan 12:7And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
- Exod 15:18The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
- Heb 7:8And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
- Heb 7:25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
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 4:9 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.