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Read the Bible
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Revelation 10:2
Bible Study Resources
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- InternationalParallel Translations
The angel was holding a small scroll. The scroll was open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land,
and he had in his honde a lytell boke opyn: and he put his ryght fote apon the see and his lyfte fote on the erth.
He had in his hand a little book open. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land.
and he had in his hand a little scroll, which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;
The angel was holding a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the earth;
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,
He had in his hand a little book open. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land.
And he had in his hand a little book opened, and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth.
In his hand he held a small scroll unrolled; and, planting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
And he hadde in his hoond a litil book openyd; and he sette his riyt foot on the see, and the left foot on the erthe.
and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;
He held in his hand a small scroll, which lay open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
and with his hand he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He stood there with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
and he had a little book (scroll) open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land;
and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the earth;
And he had in his hand a little open book: and he put his right foot on the sea, and his left on the earth;
and he had a little scroll lying open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
and having in his hand a little opened book. And he set his right foot on the sea, and the left upon the earth,
He held a small, opened scroll in his hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,Matthew 28:18;">[xr]
And he had in his hand an open book; and he set his right foot upon the sea, but the left upon the land,
And he had in his hand an open little book: and he placed his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the land:
And hee had in his hand a little booke open: and hee set his right foote vpon the sea, and his left foote on the earth,
And in his hand was a small scroll that had been opened. He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
He had in his hand a little book that was open. The angel put his right foot on the sea. He put his left foot on the land.
He held a little scroll open in his hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land,
And hee had in his hande a litle booke open, and he put his right foote vpon the sea, and his left on the earth,
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 land,
And he had in his hand a little book, open. And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth.
And he had in his hande a litle booke open, and he put his ryght foote vpon the sea, and his left foote on the earth:
He had a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
and he held a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land,
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,
and holding in his hand a little scroll that was opened. And he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.
And he had in his hand a little scroll having been opened. And he placed his right foot on the sea, and the left on the land,
and he had in his hand a little scroll opened, and he did place his right foot upon the sea, and the left upon the land,
and he had in his honde a lytell boke opyn: and he put his right fote vpon ye see, and his lifte fote on ye earth.
he held in his hand a little book open: his right foot was upon the sea, and his left foot on the land.
He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.
He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
He had a little scroll open in his hand. He placed one mighty leg on the sea and the other on the land.
and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
a little: Revelation 10:10, Revelation 5:1-5, Revelation 6:1, Revelation 6:3, Ezekiel 2:9, Ezekiel 2:10
he set: Revelation 10:5, Revelation 10:8, Psalms 2:8, Psalms 65:5, Proverbs 8:15, Proverbs 8:16, Isaiah 59:19, Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:20-22, Philippians 2:10, Philippians 2:11
Reciprocal: Daniel 12:6 - upon Zechariah 5:1 - roll Matthew 8:26 - and rebuked Matthew 14:25 - walking Acts 15:20 - from pollutions Revelation 16:3 - upon
Cross-References
From these, were dispersed the inhabitants of the coastlands of the nations, in their lands, each man by his tongue, by their families in their nations.
And, the sons of Cush: Seba and Havilah, and Sabtah and Raamah, and Sabtechah, - And the sons of Raamah, Sheba and Dedan.
and Resen, between Niveveh and Calah, - the same is the great city.
and Pathrusim and Casluhim whence came forth Philistim and Caphtorim.
Now, to Shem, father of all the sons of Eber, elder brother of Japheth, to him also, were children born.
Then will I set among them, a sign, And will send, of them such as have escaped unto the nations - Tarshish Pul and Lud that draw the bow, Tubal and Javan, - The Coastlands that are afar off, Who have not heard my fame Nor seen my glory, And they shall tell my glory throughout the nations.
Of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, was thy sail, To serve thee for ensign, - Blue and purple from the shores of Aeolis became thine awning:
Wedan and Javan, from Uzal, Brought into thy traffic, - Steel, cassia and calamus, Were, in thy merchandise:
Gomer and all her hordes, The house of Togarmah the remote men of the North and all his hordes, Many peoples with thee.
Therefore wilt thou come out of thy place. Out of the remote parts of the North, Thou and many peoples with thee, - Riding on horses all of them, A mighty gathered host. Yea a great army;
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he had in his hand a little book open,.... By which is meant not the Bible, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; or the book of the Gospel, the substance of which lies in a little room, and is no other than the preaching of Christ, and him crucified, as God's way of salvation; and which is now more open and manifest, and more clearly made known unto the sons of men, under the Gospel dispensation, than it was before, and especially since the time of the Reformation, to which this book, and the prophecies of it, may have respect; but the same book is here designed, which in Revelation 5:1 is represented as in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, as shut and sealed; but the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb in the midst of the throne, having taken it out of his hand, unloosed its seals, and opened it; and whereas we never read of his laying this book down, or of his delivering it to any other, he may be well supposed to be this mighty angel, who held it open in his hand: it may be said to be "a little book", because now not only many of the scenes and visions in it were exhibited, upon the opening of the seals; but because, at the time this vision refers to, many of its prophecies were accomplished, so that the bulk of it was greatly reduced; and it may be represented as "open", because the seals of it were unloosed, and the things in it revealed; and it is to be observed, that as the several seals of this book, and the opening of them, refer to the state of the empire, both as Pagan and as Christian, as has been seen; so the little book itself, clear of these seals, sets forth the state and condition of the church in the empire, under its different revolutions and appearances:
and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth; which signifies that he was Lord and possessor of both, of the whole terraqueous globe, being the Maker and supporter of it; and that his Gospel should be spread all over the world, both on the continent and in the islands of the sea; and that his kingdom should be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; that the abundance of the sea should be converted to him, or the maritime parts of the world should be subject to the sceptre of his grace and government; and that the earth, and the uttermost parts of it, should be his possession, though it was now almost wholly in the hands of the Turk and pope; and it may be observed, that he set his foot upon both earth and sea, out of which the two beasts arise,
Revelation 13:1, which shall be destroyed by him.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And he had in his hand a little book open - This is the first thing that indicated the purpose of his appearing, or that would give any distinct indication of the design of his coming from heaven. The general aspect of the angel, indeed, as represented in the former verse, was that of benignity, and his purpose, as there indicated, was light and peace. But still there was nothing which would denote the particular design for which he came, or which would designate the particular means which he would employ. Here we have, however, an emblem which will furnish an indication of what was to occur as the result of his appearing. To be able to apply this, it will be necessary, as in all similar cases, to explain the natural significancy of the emblem:
(1) “The little book.” The word used here - βιβλαρίδιον biblaridion - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament except in Revelation 10:8-10 of this chapter. The word βιβλίον biblion - “book” - occurs frequently: Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:4 - applied to a bill of divorcement; Luke 4:17, Luke 4:20; John 20:30; John 21:25; Gal 3:10; 2 Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 9:19; Hebrews 10:7. In the Apocalypse this word is of common occurrence: Revelation 1:11; Revelation 5:1-5, Revelation 5:7-9; Revelation 6:14, rendered “scroll”; Revelation 17:8; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 21:27; Revelation 22:7, Revelation 22:9-10, Revelation 22:18-19. The word was evidently chosen here to denote something that was special in the size or form of the book, or to distinguish it from what would be designated by the ordinary word employed to denote a book. The word properly denotes “a small roll” or “volume”; a “little scroll” (Robinson’s Lexicon, Pollux. Onomast. vii. 210). It is evident that something was intended by the diminutive size of the book, or that it was designed to make a distinction between this and that which is indicated by the use of the word “book” in the other parts of the Apocalypse. It was, at least, indicated by this that it was something different from what was seen in the hand of him that sat on the throne in Revelation 5:1.
That was clearly a large volume; this was so small that it could be taken in the hand, and could be represented as eaten, Revelation 10:9-10. But of what is a book an emblem? To this question there can be little difficulty in furnishing an answer. A book seen in a dream, according to Artemidorus, signifies the life, or the acts of him that sees it (Wemyss). According to the Indian interpreters, a book is the symbol of power and dignity. The Jewish kings, when they were crowned, had the book of the law of God put into their hands 2 Kings 11:12; 2 Chronicles 23:11; denoting that they were to observe the law, and that their administration was to be one of intelligence and uprightness. The gift of a Bible now to a monarch when he is crowned, or to the officer of a corporation or society, denotes the same thing. A book, as such, thus borne in the hand of an angel coming down to the world, would be an indication that something of importance was to be communicated to people, or that something was to be accomplished by the agency era book.
It was not, as in Revelation 6:2, a bow - emblem of conquest; or Revelation 10:4, a sword - emblem of battle; or Revelation 10:5, a pair of scales - emblem of the exactness with which things were to be determined; but it was a book - a speechless, silent thing, yet mighty; not designed to carry desolation through the earth, but to diffuse light and truth. The natural interpretation, then, would be, that something was to be accomplished by the agency of a book, or that a book was to be the prominent characteristic of the times - as the bow, the sword, and the balances had been of the previous periods. As to the size of the book, perhaps all that can be inferred is, that this was to be brought about, not by extended tomes, but by a comparatively small volume - so that it could be taken in the hand; so that it could, without impropriety, be represented as eaten by an individual.
(2) “the fact that it was open:” “a little book open” - ἀνεῳγμένον aneōgmenon. The word used here means, properly, “to open or unclose” in respect to what was before fastened or sealed, as what is covered by a door, Matthew 2:11; tombs, which were closed by large stones, Matthew 27:60, Matthew 27:66; a gate, Acts 5:23; Acts 12:10; the abyss, Revelation 9:2 - “since in the east pits or wells are closed with large stones, compare Genesis 29:2” (Robinson’s Lexicon). The meaning of this word, as applied to a book, would be, that it was now opened so that its contents could be read. The word would not necessarily imply that it had been sealed or closed, though that would be the most natural impression from the use of the word. Compare for the use of the word rendered “open,” Revelation 3:8, Revelation 3:20; Revelation 4:1; Revelation 5:2-5, Revelation 5:9; Revelation 6:1, Revelation 6:3,Revelation 6:5, Revelation 6:7,Revelation 6:9, Revelation 6:12; Revelation 8:1; Revelation 9:2; Revelation 10:8; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 20:12. This would find a fulfillment if some such facts as the following should occur:
(a)If there had been any custom or arrangement by which knowledge was kept from people, or access was forbidden to books or to some one book in particular; and,
(b)If something should occur by which what had before been kept hidden or concealed, or that to which access had been denied, should be made accessible. In other words, this is the proper symbol of a diffusion of knowledge, or of “the influence of a book on mankind.”
(3) The fact that it was in the hand of the angel. All that seems to be implied in this is, that it was now offered, or was ready to be put in possession of John - or of the church - or of mankind. It was open, and was held out, as it were, for perusal.
In regard to the application of this, it is plain that, if it be admitted that it was the design of the author of the vision to refer to the Reformation, no more appropriate emblem could have been chosen. If we were now to endeavor to devise an emblem of the Reformation that would be striking and expressive, we could not well select one which would better represent the great work than what is here presented. This will appear plain from a few considerations:
(1) The great agent in the Reformation, the moving cause of it, its suggester and supporter, was a book - “the Bible.” Wycliffe had translated the New Testament into the English language, and though this was suppressed, yet it had done much to prepare the people for the Reformation; and all that Luther did can be traced to the discovery of the Bible, and to the use which was made of it. Luther had grown up into manhood; had passed from the schools to the university of Erfurt, and there having, during the usual four years’ course of study, displayed intellectual powers and an extent of learning that excited the admiration of the university, and that seemed to open to his attainment both the honor and emolument of the world, he appeared to have been prepared to play an important part on the great drama of human affairs. Suddenly, however, to the astonishment and dismay of his friends, he betook himself to the solitude and gloom of an Augustinian monastery.
There he found a Bible - a copy of the Vulgate - hid in the shelves of the university library. Until then he had supposed that there existed no other Gospels or Epistles than what were given in the Breviary, or quoted by the preachers. To the study of that book he now gave himself with untiring diligence and steady prayer; and the effect was to show to him the way of salvation by faith, and ultimately to produce the Reformation. No one acquainted with the history of the Reformation can doubt that it is to be traced to the influence of the Bible; that the moving cause, the spring of all that occurred in the Reformation, was the impulse given to the mind of Luther and his fellow-laborers by the study of that one book. It is this well-known fact that gives so much truth to the celebrated declaration of Chillingworth, that “the Bible is the religion of Protestants.” If a symbol of this had been designed before it occurred, or if one should be sought for now that would designate the actual nature and influence of the Reformation, nothing better could he selected than that of an angel descending from heaven, with benignant aspect, with a rainbow around his head, and with light beaming all around him, holding forth to mankind a book.
(2) This book had before been hidden, or closed; that is, it could not until then be regarded as an open volume:
(a) It was in fact known by few even of the clergy, and it was not in the hands of the mass of the people at all. There is every reason to believe that the great body of the Roman Catholic clergy, in the time that preceded the Reformation, were even more ignorant of the Bible than Luther himself was. Many of them were unable to read; few had access to the Bible; and those who had, drew their doctrines rather from the fathers of the church than from the Word of God. Hallam (Middle Ages, ii. 241) says: “Of this prevailing ignorance (in the tenth century and onward) it is easy to produce abundant testimony. In almost every council the ignorance of the clergy forms a subject for reproach. It is asserted by one held in 992, that scarcely a single person could be found in Rome itself who knew the first clements of letters. Not one priest of a thousand in Spain, about the age of Charlemagne, could address a letter of common salutation to another. In England, Alfred declares that he could not recollect a single priest south of the Thames (the best part of England), at the time of his accession, who understood the ordinary prayers, or who could translate the Latin into the mother tongue.”
There were few books of any kind in circulation, and even if there had been an ability to read, the cost of books was so great as to exclude the great mass of the people from all access to the sacred Scriptures. “Many of the clergy,” says Dr. Robertson (Hist. of Charles V. p. 14, Harper’s ed.), “did not understand the Breviary which they were obliged daily to recite; some of them could scarcely read it.” “Persons of the highest rank, and in the most eminent stations, could neither read nor write.” One of the questions appointed by the canons to be put to persons who were candidates for orders was this, “Whether they could read the Gospels and Epistles, and explain the sense of them at least literally?” For the causes of this ignorance see Robertson’s History of Charles V. p. 515. One of those causes was the cost of books. “Private persons seldom possessed any books whatever. Even monasteries of considerable note had only one Missal. The price of books became so high that persons of a moderate fortune could not afford to purchase them. The Countess of Anjou paid for a copy of the Homilies of Haimon, bishop of Alberstadt, two hundred sheep, five quarters of wheat, and the same quantity of rye and millet,” etc. Such was the cost of books that few persons could afford to own a copy of the sacred Scriptures; and the consequence was, there were almost none in the hands of the people. The few copies that were in existence were mostly in the libraries of monasteries and universities, or in the hands of some of the higher clergy.
(b) But there was another reason that was still more efficacious, perhaps, in keeping the people at large from the knowledge of the Scriptures. It was found in the prevailing views in the Roman Catholic communion respecting the private use and interpretation of the sacred volume. Whatever theory may now be advocated in the Roman Catholic communion on this point, as a matter of fact, the influence of that denomination has been to withhold the Bible from a free circulation among the common people. No one can deny that, in the times just preceding the Reformation, the whole influence of the papal denomination was opposed to a free circulation of the Bible, and that one of the great and characteristic features of the Reformation was the fact, that the doctrine was promulgated that the Bible was to be freely distributed, and that the people everywhere were to have access to it, and were to form their own opinions of the doctrines which it reveals.
(3) The Bible became, at the Reformation, in fact an “open” book. it was made accessible. It became the popular book of the world - the book that did more than all other things to change the aspect of affairs, and to give character to subsequent times. This occurred because:
(a) the art of printing was discovered just before the Reformation, as if, in the providence of God, it was designed then to give this precious volume to the world; and the Bible was, in fact, the first book printed, and has been since printed more frequently than any other book whatever, and will continue to be to the end of the world. It would be difficult to imagine now a more striking symbol of the art of printing, or to suggest a better device for it, than to represent an angel giving an open volume to mankind.
(b) The leading doctrine of the Reformers was, that the Bible is the source of all authority in matters of religion, and, consequently, is to be accessible to all the people. And,
(c) the Bible was the authority appealed to by the Reformers. It became the subject of profound study; was diffused abroad; and gave form to all the doctrines that sprang out of the times of the Reformation. These remarks, which might be greatly expanded, will show with what propriety, on the supposition that the chapter here refers to the Reformation, the symbol of a book was selected. Obviously no other symbol would have been so appropriate; nothing else would have given so just a view of the leading characteristics of that period of the world.
And he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth - This is the third characteristic in the symbol. As a mere description this is eminently sublime. I was once (at Cape May, 1849) impressively reminded of this passage. My window was in such a position that it commanded a fine view at the same time of the ocean and the land. A storm arose such as I had never witnessed - the clouds from the different points of the compass seeming to come together over the place, and producing incessant lightning and thunder. As the storm cleared away the most magnificent rainbow that I ever saw appeared, arching the heavens, one foot of it far off on the sea, and the other on the land - an emblem of peace to both - and most strikingly suggesting to me the angel in the Apocalypse. The natural meaning of such a symbol as that represented here would be, that something was to occur which would pertain to the whole world, as the earth is made up of land and water.
It is hardly necessary to say, that on the supposition that this refers to the Reformation, there is no difficulty in finding an ample fulfillment of the symbol. That great work was designed manifestly by Providence to affect all the world - the sea and the land - the dwellers in the islands and in the continents - those who “go down to the sea in ships, and do business in the great waters,” and those who have a permanent dwelling on shore. It may be admitted, indeed, that, in itself, this one thing - the angel standing on the sea and the land, if it occurred alone, could not suggest the Reformation; and if there were nothing else, such an application might seem fanciful and unnatural; but, taken in connection with the other things in the symbol, and assuming that the whole vision was designed to symbolize the Reformation, it will not be regarded as unnatural that there should be some symbol which would intimate that the blessings of a reformed religion - a pure gospel - would be ultimately spread over land and ocean - over the continents and islands of the globe; in all the fixed habitations of people, and in their floating habitations on the deep. The symbol of a rainbow bending over the sea and land, would have expressed this; the same thing would be expressed by an angel whose head was encircled by a rainbow, and whose face beamed with light, with one foot on the ocean and the other on the land,
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Revelation 10:2. A little book open — Meaning probably some design of God long concealed, but now about to be made manifest. But who knows what it means?
His right foot upon the sea, and his left-on the earth — To show that he had the command of each, and that his power was universal, all things being under his feet.
