I saw thrones(A) on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.(B) And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded(C) because of their testimony about Jesus(D) and because of the word of God.(E) They[a] had not worshiped the beast(F) or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.(G) They came to life and reigned(H) with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.(I) Blessed(J) and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death(K) has no power over them, but they will be priests(L) of God and of Christ and will reign with him(M) for a thousand years.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:4 Or God; I also saw those who

Then[a] I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge.[b] I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These[c] had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They[d] came to life[e] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.)[f] This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who takes part[g] in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them,[h] but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
  2. Revelation 20:4 tn Grk “I saw thrones, and those seated on them, and judgment was given to them.” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 3 says, “judging, judgment, the κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς authority to judge was given to them Rv 20:4.”
  3. Revelation 20:4 tn Grk “God, and who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “these” as subject.
  4. Revelation 20:4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  5. Revelation 20:4 tn On the use of the aorist ἔζησαν (ezēsan) BDAG 425 s.v. ζάω 1.a.β says, “of dead persons who return to life become alive again: of humans in general (3 Km 17:23) Mt 9:18; Ac 9:41; 20:12; Rv 20:4, 5.”
  6. Revelation 20:5 sn This statement appears to be a parenthetical comment by the author.
  7. Revelation 20:6 tn Grk “who has a share.”
  8. Revelation 20:6 tn The shift from the singular pronoun (“the one”) to the plural (“them”) in the passage reflects the Greek text: The singular participle ὁ ἔχων (ho echōn) is followed by the plural pronoun τούτων (toutōn). In the interests of English style, this is obscured in most modern translations except the NASB.