Revelation 10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 10
A Small Scroll: Sweet and Bitter.[a] 1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire, 2 and his hand held a small scroll that had been opened.
Placing his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 the angel gave forth a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders spoke. 4 After the seven thunders had spoken, I was preparing to write when I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, but do not write it down.”
5 Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever and who created heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them: “There will be no further delay. 7 When the time comes for the seventh angel to sound his trumpet, the mysterious purpose of God[b] will be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the Prophets.”
8 Then I again heard the voice that had spoken to me from heaven, and it said, “Go and take that open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 Therefore, I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He replied, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
10 I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it did taste as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy once again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 10:1 The large scroll, whose seven seals are being broken one after another, is said to contain the entire History of Salvation, which unfolds from Christ’s Death and Resurrection to the day of the final judgment. This history is brought to mind from the viewpoint of the destiny of the Jewish people, but the last episode in this history includes the judgment and salvation of the nations, which are here set forth.
An angel brings forth and unrolls another text; the messenger dominates heaven and the sea, i.e., his announcement concerns the whole universe. The scroll that the angel is holding here contains the story of clashes between the Church and the forces that control the pagan world. It is a small scroll, because the events told in it are connected with the history of Israel, in which the end of Jerusalem introduces the era of the nations.
There will be no more delay. Everything remains secret, yet everything will be played out between the sixth and the seventh trumpet. The scene of the scroll that is eaten was inspired by an account of Ezekiel (2:8—3:3). The revelation is sweet and bitter: sweet because it is a word of salvation and makes known the final triumph of Christ and his faithful; bitter because it announces the trials and tribulations that in so many texts of the Bible precede the judgment of God. The Gospel speaks of the joy of the woman giving birth in sorrow (Jn 16:21). - Revelation 10:7 The mysterious purpose of God: literally, “the mystery of God,” i.e., the end of the present age when the power of evil will be overcome (see Rev 17:1—19:4, 11-21; 20:7-10; Rom 16:25f; 2 Thes 2:6-12) and the Kingdom of God is established and all creation is renewed (see Rev 21:1—22:5).
Revelation 10
King James Version
10 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
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.
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6 And 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:
7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Pahayag 10
Ang Bagong Tipan: Filipino Standard Version
Ang Anghel at ang Maliit na Balumbon
10 Pagkatapos ay nakita ko ang isa pang makapangyarihang anghel na bumababa mula sa langit. Siya'y nababalutan ng ulap at may bahaghari sa kanyang ulo; ang mukha niya ay tulad ng araw, at ang kanyang mga binti ay parang mga haliging apoy. 2 May hawak siyang maliit na balumbong nakabukas. Itinapak niya sa dagat ang kanyang kanang paa, at sa lupa ang kaliwa. 3 Sumigaw siya nang napakalakas, tulad ng isang leong umaatungal. Pagsigaw niya, dumagundong ang pitong kulog. 4 Pagkatapos ng dagundong, susulat na sana ako, ngunit narinig ko ang isang tinig mula sa langit na nagsasabi, “Takpan mo ng tatak ang mga sinabi ng pitong kulog, at huwag mong isulat ang mga ito.” 5 At (A) itinaas ng anghel na nakita kong nakatayo sa dagat at sa lupa ang kanyang kanang kamay sa langit. 6 Sumumpa siya sa kanya na nabubuhay magpakailanman, sa kanya na lumikha ng langit at ng lahat ng naroroon, ng lupa at lahat ng naroroon, at ng dagat at lahat ng naroroon: “Hindi na patatagalin pa, 7 ngunit sa mga araw na hihipan ng ikapitong anghel ang kanyang trumpeta, magaganap ang hiwaga ng Diyos ayon sa inihayag niya sa kanyang mga lingkod na propeta.”
8 At (B) nagsalitang muli ang tinig na narinig ko mula sa langit, “Humayo ka, kunin mo ang bukas na balumbon sa kamay ng anghel na nakatayo sa dagat at sa lupa.” 9 Kaya pumunta ako sa anghel at hiningi ko sa kanya ang munting balumbon. Sinabi niya sa akin, “Kunin mo, at kainin mo; mapait ito sa tiyan, subalit sintamis naman ng pulot sa iyong bibig.” 10 Inabot ko ang maliit na balumbon mula sa kamay ng anghel at kinain ito. Kasintamis ito ng pulot, subalit nang makain ko'y pumait ang tiyan ko.
11 At sinabi nila sa akin, “Kailangang magpahayag kang muli ng propesiya tungkol sa maraming bansa, mga lahi, mga wika, at mga hari.”
Ang Bagong Tipan: Filipino Standard Version, Copyright © Philippine Bible Society 2009.
