Passage
Revelation 5.13-14
13. And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion,... (ASV)Book: Revelation · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV
11. And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12. saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
13. And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever. 14. And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped. (Revelation 5:11-14, ASV)
WEB
11. I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; 12. saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!”
13. I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!” 14. The four living creatures said, “Amen!” The elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:11-14, WEB)
KJV
11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12. Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13. And 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. 14. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:11-14, KJV)
YLT
11. And I saw, and I heard the voice of many messengers round the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands 12. saying with a great voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!'
13. and every creature that is in the heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and the things that are upon the sea, and the all things in them, heard I saying, 'To Him who is sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, [is] the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the might, to the ages of the ages!' 14. and the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the twenty-four elders fell down and they bow before Him who is living to the ages of the ages. (Revelation 5:11-14, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: John, recording his vision (1:1, 9)
- Audience: The seven churches of the Roman province of Asia (1:4, 11)
- Location: The island of Patmos, where John was "for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" (1:9)
- Time period: C. AD 95, near the end of Domitian's reign, following Irenaeus (Against Heresies 5.30.3); a minority of scholars date it to the late 60s
Theological reading
"And 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. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever" (Revelation 5:13-14, KJV).
One doxology, two recipients. The same fourfold praise, blessing, honour, glory and power, is given in one breath to God on the throne and to the Lamb. It is not a lesser honour for the Lamb and a greater one for God; it is the same words "for ever and ever."
Every creature. The list sweeps the whole created order: heaven, earth, under the earth, sea. That matters for the question of who the Lamb is. If every creature worships him, he is not counted among the creatures doing the worshipping.
In a book that polices worship. Revelation is strict about worship. When John falls before an angel, the angel stops him: "See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant ... worship God" (19:10; again 22:8-9). Richard Bauckham argues that this contrast is deliberate: Revelation forbids angel worship and in the same book places the Lamb inside the worship due to God alone.
How the comparison uses it. The Jehovah's Witnesses vs the Christian God comparison pairs these verses with Hebrews 1:6 and John 5:23, "that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." See Revelation 5 and Christs Deity.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.
- G0165 - aion, aion, Strong's G0165
- G2198 - zao, zao, Strong's G2198
- G1391 - doxa, doxa, Strong's G1391
- G0191 - akouo, akouo, Strong's G0191
- G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
- G3004 - lego, lego, Strong's G3004
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
- Argument from the Universal Music Convergence, via Revelation 5.9-13
- Jehovah's Witnesses vs the Christian God
- Jesus Has a God Therefore Not God Objection Defeater, via Revelation 5.11-14
Concepts:
- Angels, via Revelation 5.11-14
- Christ is God, via Revelation 5.11-14
- Christianity, via Revelation 5.8-14
- Christs Deity
- Father-Son Authority Asymmetry, via Revelation 5.13
- Jehovahs Witnesses
- Lesson 2.4, Christology in One Lesson
- Old Testament Witness to the Deity of Christ, via Revelation 5.13
- Trinity vs Oneness vs Modalism vs Arianism, via Revelation 5.8-14
Guides:
Passages:
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.