Revelation 1:14

New Living Translation

His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,

Geneva Bible (1587)
His head, & heares were white as white wooll, and as snowe, and his eyes were as a flame of fire,

Christian Standard Bible®
The hair of his head was white as wool—white as snow—and his eyes like a fiery flame.

Hebrew Names Version
His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.

Darby Translation
his head and hair white like white wool, as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire;

Easy-to-Read Version
His head and hair were white like wool—wool that is white as snow. His eyes were like flames of fire.

Amplified Bible
His head and His hair were white like white wool, [glistening white] like snow; and His [all-seeing] eyes were [flashing] like a flame of fire [piercing into my being].

American Standard Version
And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Berean Standard Bible
The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.

Contemporary English Version
His head and his hair were white as wool or snow, and his eyes looked like flames of fire.

Complete Jewish Bible
His head and hair were as white as snow-white wool, his eyes like a fiery flame ,

International Standard Version
His head and his hair were white like wool, in fact, as white as snow. His eyes were like flames of fire,[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But his head and hair were white as wool, white as snow; and his eyes (were) as a flame of fire,

Murdock Translation
And his head and his hair were white, like white wool, like snow; and his eyes, like a flame of fire:

King James Version (1611)
His head, and his haires were white like wooll as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
His head, and his heeres were whyte as whyte wooll, and as snowe, and his eyes were as a flambe of fyre.

English Revised Version
And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

King James Version
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Lexham English Bible
and his head and hair were white like wool, white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame,

Literal Translation
And the hairs of His head were white as white wool, as snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire;

New American Standard Bible
His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.

New Century Version
His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like flames of fire.

New English Translation
His head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame.

New King James Version
His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;

New Revised Standard
His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And his head and hair, white, like white wool - like snow, and, his eyes, like a flame of fire,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And his head and his hairs were white as white wool and as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire:

George Lamsa Translation
His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Good News Translation
His hair was white as wool, or as snow, and his eyes blazed like fire;

World English Bible
His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow,

Weymouth's New Testament
His head and His hair were white, like white wool--as white as snow; and His eyes resembled a flame of fire.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the heed of hym and his heeris weren whijt, as whijt wolle, and as snow; and the iyen of hym as flawme of fier,

Webster's Bible Translation
His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;

Revised Standard Version
his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
His heed and his heares were whyte as whyte woll and as snowe: and his eyes were as a flame of fyre:

Update Bible Version
And his head and his hair were white as white wool, [white] as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Young's Literal Translation
and his head and hairs white, as if white wool -- as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire;

Bible in Basic English
And his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
His heed, and his heares were whyte, as whyte woll, & as snowe: and his eyes were as a flamme of fyre:

Mace New Testament (1729)
his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; his feet were like fine brass,

New Life Bible
His head and His hair were white like white wool. They were as white as snow. His eyes were like fire.

Simplified Cowboy Version
His hair was exquisitely white and his eyes blazed brighter than the sun.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.

Contextual Overview

⁹ I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God's Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. ¹⁰ It was the Lord's Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. ¹¹ It said, "Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea." ¹² When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. ¹³ And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. ¹⁴ His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. ¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and his hairs: Daniel 7:9, Matthew 28:3

and his eyes: Revelation 2:18, Revelation 19:12, Daniel 10:6

Reciprocal: Job 10:4 - seest thou Job 41:18 - the eyelids Song of Solomon 5:11 - his locks Song of Solomon 7:5 - the hair Ezekiel 1:27 - the appearance of fire Ezekiel 8:2 - I beheld

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:2
The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:3
Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Genesis 1:4
And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:6
Then God said, "Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth."

Genesis 1:7
And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens.

Genesis 1:8
God called the space "sky." And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Genesis 1:9
Then God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear." And that is what happened.

Genesis 1:12
The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14
Then God said, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow,.... In allusion to the white head and hairs of old men, said to be hoary, or like the hoar frost, and compared to an almond tree in bloom, Ecclesiastes 12:5; and here to wool and snow for whiteness; see

Ezekiel 27:18; and according to the Jews p, צמר לבן, "white wool", is the wool of a lamb just born, about which a cloth is bound, that it may not be defiled; now these metaphors are expressive of the antiquity of Christ, who is the everlasting Father, and whose goings forth were of old, even from everlasting; and of his senile gravity and prudence, for with the Ancient is wisdom; he is the wisdom of God, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid; and also of his glory and majesty, being the brightness of his Father's glory; and likewise of his true and proper deity, since this description is the same with that of the Ancient of days in Daniel 7:9; for by his head is not here meant either God the Father, who is sometimes called the head of Christ, 1 Corinthians 11:3, nor his divine nature, which is the chief and principal in him, nor his headship over the church; nor do his hairs intend his elect, which grow upon him, and are nourished by him, and are so called for their number, weakness, and purity:

and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire: see Daniel 10:6; which may design the omniscience of Christ, which reaches to all persons, and things, and is very searching and penetrating, and discovers and brings to light things the most dark and obscure; and also Christ's eyes of love upon his own people, which have both heat and light; Christ's love never waxes cold, and, being shed abroad in the hearts of his people, warms theirs; and in the light of his gracious countenance do they see light; and his love, like flames of fire, melts their souls into a true and genuine repentance for sin: or else, rather his eyes of wrath and vengeance, as set upon his enemies, are here meant: which will be fierce and furious, bring swift and sudden destruction on them, before which there is no standing, and from which there is no fleeing. It is said of Augustus Caesar, that he had fiery eyes q.

p T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 54. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Sabbat, c. 5. sect. 2. q Servius in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 8. p. 13. 55.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow - Exceedingly or perfectly white - the first suggestion to the mind of the apostle being that of wool, and then the thought occurring of its extreme whiteness resembling snow - the purest white of which the mind conceives. The comparison with wool and snow to denote anything especially white is not uncommon. See Isaiah 1:18. Prof. Stuart supposes that this means, not that his hairs were literally white, as if with age, which he says would be incongruous to one just risen from the dead, clothed with immortal youth and vigor, but that it means radiant, bright, resplendent - similar to what occurred on the transfiguration of the Saviour, Matthew 17:2. But to this it may be replied:

1. That this would not accord well with that with which his hair is compared - snow and wool, particularly the latter.
2. The usual meaning of the word is more obvious here, and not at all inappropriate.

The representation was suited to signify majesty and authority; and this would be best accomplished by the image of one who was venerable in years. Thus, in the vision that appeared to Daniel Daniel 7:9, it is said of him who is there called the “Ancient of Days,” that “his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool.” It is not improbable that John had that representation in his eye, and that therefore he would be impressed with the conviction that this was a manifestation of a divine person. We are not necessarily to suppose that this is the form in which the Saviour always appears now in heaven, anymore than we are to suppose that God appears always in the form in which he was manifested to Isaiah Isaiah 6:1, to Daniel Daniel 7:9, or to Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu in the mount, Exodus 24:10-11. The representation is, that this form was assumed for the purpose of impressing the mind of the apostle with a sense of his majesty and glory.

And his eyes were as a flame of fire - Bright, sharp, penetrating; as if everything was light before them, or they would penetrate into the thoughts of people. Such a representation is not uncommon. We speak of a lightning glance, a fiery look, etc. In Daniel 10:6, it is said of the man who appeared to the prophet on the banks of the river Hiddekel, that his eyes were “as lamps of fire.” Numerous instances of this comparison from the Greek and Latin Classics may be seen in Wetstein, in loco.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 1:14. His head and his hairs were white like wool — This was not only an emblem of his antiquity, but it was the evidence of his glory; for the whiteness or splendour of his head and hair doubtless proceeded from the rays of light and glory which encircled his head, and darted from it in all directions. The splendour around the head was termed by the Romans nimbus, and by us a glory; and was represented round the heads of gods, deified persons, and saints. It is used in the same way through almost all the nations of the earth.

His eyes were as a flame of fire — To denote his omniscience, and the all-penetrating nature of the Divine knowledge.