Revelation 10:4

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
when	ὅτε hote	G3753	at which (thing) too · conjunction
seven	ἑπτὰ hepta	G2033	seven · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
thunders	βρονταί, brontai	G1027	thunder · noun — nominative plural feminine
uttered	ἐλάλησαν elalēsan	G2980	to talk · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
their	ἑαυτῶν he'autōn	G1438	him- (her- · reflexive pronoun
voices	φωνὰς phōnas	G5456	a tone (articulate · noun — accusative plural feminine
about	ἤμελλον ēmellon	G3195	to intend · verb — imperfect active indicative, 1st person singular
write	γράφειν. graphein	G1125	to "grave" · verb — present active infinitive
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
heard	ἤκουσα ēkousa	G191	to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
voice	φωνὴν phōnēn	G5456	a tone (articulate · noun — accusative singular feminine
from	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
heaven	οὐρανοῦ ouranou	G3772	the sky · noun — genitive singular masculine
saying	λέγουσαν legousan	G3004	properly · verb — present active participle, accusative singular feminine
me	μοί moí	G3427	to me
up	σφράγισον sphragison	G4972	to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security o… · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
which	ἃ ha	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — accusative plural neuter
seven	ἑπτὰ hepta	G2033	seven · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
thunders	βρονταί, brontai	G1027	thunder · noun — nominative plural feminine
uttered	ἐλάλησαν elalēsan	G2980	to talk · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
write	γράψῃς. grapsēs	G1125	to "grave" · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person singular
them	ταῦτα taûta	G5023	these things
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be inc…
Daniel 8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Daniel 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may…
Revelation 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Isaiah 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
Isaiah 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this,…
Habakkuk 2:2-3 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 10:1-7

Here we have an account of another vision the apostle was favoured with, between the sounding of the sixth trumpet and that of the seventh. And we observe, I. The person who was principally concerned in communicating this discovery to John - an angel from heaven, another mighty angel, who is so set forth as would induce one to think it could be no other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 1. He was clothed with a cloud: he veils his glory, which is too great for mortality to behold; and he throws a veil upon his dispensations. Clouds and darkness are round about him. 2. A rainbow was upon his head; he is always mindful of his covenant, and, when his conduct is most mysterious, yet it is…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 10:4

when--Aleph reads, "Whatsoever things." But most manuscripts support English Version. uttered their voices--A, B, C, and Aleph omit "their voices." Then translate, "had spoken." unto me--omitted by A, B, C, Aleph, and Syriac. Seal up--the opposite command to Rev 22:20. Even though at the time of the end the things sealed in Daniel's time were to be revealed, yet not so the voices of these thunders. Though heard by John, they were not to be imparted by him to others in this book of Revelation; so terrible are they that God in mercy withholds them, since "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." The godly are thus kept from morbid ponderings over the evil to come; and the ungodly ar…

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Adam Clarke on Revelation 10:3

Seven thunders - Seven being a number of perfection, it may here mean many, great, loud, and strong peals of thunder, accompanied with distinct voices; but what was said, St. John was not permitted to reveal, Rev 10:4.

John Gill on Revelation 10:4

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices,.... Or declared all they had to denounce upon the enemies of Christ and his church: I was about to write; John taking particular notice of what they said, and believing it might be for the advantage, comfort, and support of the church of Christ under its suffering circumstances, to be informed of what God had in reserve among the treasures of his wrath for their adversaries, was going to put it down in writing, that he might retain it, and the better communicate it, and in obedience to the order given him, Revelation 1:19; and I heard a voice from heaven; from God the Father, for the Son of God in a visionary way was come down from heav…

The Church Fathers

And when the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write. For earlier he heard: What you see, write in a book (Revelation I).
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

This shows that what is now undisclosed is to be explained through experience and the course of the events themselves. And from the heavenly voice the Evangelist learned that the voices are to be imprinted on the mind but that the final understanding and the clear interpretation of them is reserved for the last times.
— Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 10:4

Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write it down. The mysteries of the Christian faith are neither to be shown to all indiscriminately, lest they become cheap, nor hidden from the worthy, lest they be entirely unknown. Hence, later he heard: Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (Revelation XXII). Both are comprehended in one verse in Daniel, where it is said to him through the angel: Seal the book and shut up the words until the appointed time (Daniel XII).
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Seals · Illustrative of: Secrecy — Illustrative of: Secrecy

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 10:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 10:4

Adam Clarke on Revelation 10:3

John Gill on Revelation 10:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 10:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 10:4

Adam Clarke on Revelation 10:3

John Gill on Revelation 10:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 10:4