Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, November 24th, 2024
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Revelation 10:9

And I went away unto the messenger, asking him to give me the little scroll; and he saith unto me - Take it, and eat it up; and it shall embitter thy belly, but, in thy mouth, shall be sweet as honey.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Angel (a Spirit);   Vision;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Eating;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Preaching;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Apocalyptic;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Order;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Book;   Eating;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Book;   Water of Jealousy;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Honey;   Revelation, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Book (2);   Mouth Lips;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Book;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Roll;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Bulrush;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Honey;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Writing;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Belly;   Bitter;   Honey;   Revelation of John:;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Book of life;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take the scroll and eat it. It will be sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet like honey."
Revised Standard Version
So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, "Take it and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth."
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And I went vnto the angell and sayde to him: geve me the lytle boke and he sayd vnto me: take it and eate it vp and it shall make thy belly bytter but it shalbe in thy mouth as swete as hony.
Hebrew Names Version
I went to the angel, saying, "Give me the little book." He said to me, "Take it, and eat it up. It will make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
New American Standard Bible
And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
New Century Version
So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. And he said to me, "Take the scroll and eat it. It will be sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
Update Bible Version
And I went to the angel, saying to him that he should give me the little book. And he says to me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it shall be sweet as honey.
Webster's Bible Translation
And I went to the angel, and said to him, Give me the little book. And he said to me, Take [it], and eat it, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
World English Bible
I went to the angel, saying, "Give me the little book." He said to me, "Take it, and eat it up. It will make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And I went to the angel, saying to him, Give me the little book. And he saith to me, Take and eat it up, and it will make thy belly bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in thy mouth.
Weymouth's New Testament
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. "Take it," he said, "and eat the whole of it. You will find it bitter when you have eaten it, although in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y wente to the aungel, and seide to hym, that he schulde yyue me the book. And he seide to me, Take the book, and deuoure it; and it schal make thi wombe to be bittir, but in thi mouth it schal be swete as hony.
English Revised Version
And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.
Berean Standard Bible
And I went to the angel and said, "Give me the small scroll." "Take it and eat it," he said. "It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
Contemporary English Version
When I went over to ask the angel for the little scroll, the angel said, "Take the scroll and eat it! Your stomach will turn sour, but the taste in your mouth will be as sweet as honey."
Amplified Bible
So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
American Standard Version
And I went unto the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the little book. And he saith unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.
Bible in Basic English
And I went to the angel, and said to him, Give me the little book. And he said to me: Put it in your mouth; and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.
Complete Jewish Bible
So I went over to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
Darby Translation
And I went to the angel, saying to him to give me the little book. And he says to me, Take and eat it up: and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.
International Standard Version
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth."Jeremiah 15:16; Ezekiel 2:8; 3:1-3;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And I went to the angel, and said to him, Give me the book. And he said to me, Take, and eat it; and it will embitter thee thy belly, but in thy mouth it will be sweet as honey.
Murdock Translation
And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, Take, and eat it: and it will make thy bowels bitter, but in thy mouth it will be sweet as honey.
King James Version (1611)
And I went vnto the Angel, and said vnto him, Giue me the little booke. And he sayd vnto me, Take it, and eat it vp, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall bee in thy mouth sweete as hony.
New Living Translation
So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. "Yes, take it and eat it," he said. "It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will turn sour in your stomach!"
New Life Bible
I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. He said, "Take it and eat it. It will taste like honey in your mouth. But after you have eaten it, it will make your stomach sour."
New Revised Standard
So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, "Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth."
English Standard Version
So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, "Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
Geneva Bible (1587)
So I went vnto the Angel, and saide to him, Giue me the litle booke. And he said vnto me, Take it, and eate it vp, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shalbe in thy mouth as sweete as honie.
George Lamsa Translation
And I went to the angel, and as I was about to say to him, Give me the little book, he said to me, Take it and eat it; and it shall make your belly bitter, but it shall be sweet as honey in your mouth.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And I went to the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the book. And he said to me: Take the book and eat it up. And it shall make thy belly bitter: but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I went vnto the Angel, & sayde vnto hym, geue me the litle booke. And he sayde vnto me, take it and eate it vp, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shalbe in thy mouth as sweete as hony.
Good News Translation
I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will turn sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
Christian Standard Bible®
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
King James Version
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.
Lexham English Bible
And I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, "Take and eat it up, and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."
Literal Translation
And I went away toward the angel, saying to him, Give the little scroll to me. And he said to me, Take and eat it up, and it will make your belly bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in your mouth.
Young's Literal Translation
and I went away unto the messenger, saying to him, `Give me the little scroll;' and he saith to me, `Take, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet -- as honey.'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And I went vnto the angel, and sayde vnto him: geue me the lytle boke. And he sayde vnto me: Take it, and eate it vp, and it shal make thy belly bytter, but it shalbe in thy mouth as swete as hony.
Mace New Testament (1729)
so I went to the angel, and said to him, "give me the little book." and he said to me, "take it, and eat it up; it shall prove bitter in thy bowels, but in thy mouth it shall be as sweet as honey."
New English Translation
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth."
New King James Version
So I went to the angel and said to him, "Give me the little book." And he said to me, "Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth."
Simplified Cowboy Version
I did as instructed and the angel said, "Eat it. It will be like honey in your mouth, but your stomach will sour."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."

Contextual Overview

8 And, the voice which I had heard out of heaven, I again heard talking with me; and saying - Go take the opened scroll, that is in the hand of the messenger who is standing upon the sea and upon the land. 9 And I went away unto the messenger, asking him to give me the little scroll; and he saith unto me - Take it, and eat it up; and it shall embitter thy belly, but, in thy mouth, shall be sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the messenger, and did eat it up; and it was, in my mouth, as honey, sweet, and, when I had eaten it, embittered was my belly. 11 And they say unto me - It behoveth thee again to prophesy against peoples and nations and tongues, and many kings.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Take: Job 23:12, Jeremiah 15:16, Ezekiel 2:8, Ezekiel 3:1-3, Ezekiel 3:14, Colossians 3:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:21 - eaten them up Numbers 5:18 - the bitter water Ezekiel 3:3 - it was Daniel 7:15 - was grieved

Cross-References

Genesis 6:4
The giants, were in the each in these days, and also, after that, when the sons of God began to go in unto the daughters of men, and sons were born to them, the same, were the heroes that were from age-past times the men of renown.
Genesis 6:11
And the earth corrupted itself before God, - and the earth was filled with violence,
Genesis 13:13
Now, the men of Sodom were base and sinful, - against Yahweh, exceedingly.
Genesis 25:27
And when the youths grew up, it came to pass that Esau was a man skilled in game a man of the field, - but, Jacob, was a ready man, dwelling in tents.
Genesis 27:30
And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, - yea it came to pass when Jacob, had only just gone forth, from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother, came in from his hunting.
2 Chronicles 28:22
And, in the time of his distress, he yet further acted unfaithfully with Yahweh, - he, King Ahaz!
Psalms 52:7
Lo! the man who made not God his refuge, - But trusted in the abundance of his riches, Emboldened himself in his wealth!
Jeremiah 16:16
Behold me! sending for many fishers Declareth Yahweh, And they shall catch them, - and thereafter will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from off every mountain and from off every hill, and out of the clefts of the crags.
Ezekiel 13:18
and say, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Alas! for the women Who sew oracle, cases on all elbows And prepare wraps upon the head of every stature to hunt souls, - the souls ye hunt, are those of my people, Whereas your own souls:, ye keep alive.
Micah 7:2
Perished is the man of lovingkindness out of the earth, and, upright among men, is there none, - they all, for bloodshed, lie in wait. Every man - for his brother, do they hunt as for one devoted to destruction.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I went to the angel,.... According to the order given him; he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; and, indeed, whither should any go knowledge but to him who has the words of eternal life, and is the great prophet of the church? and to whom should John go to qualify him for prophesying, but to him, who, as man and Mediator, had this revelation of future things given him? Revelation 1:1;

and said unto him, give me the little book; he did not take it without his leave, but in a modest and humble manner asks him to give it him, that he might deliver out the prophecies in it to others: so ordinary prophets and ministers of the word should go to Christ, to have their eyes opened, their understandings enlightened, that they may understand the Scriptures, and explain them to others:

and he said unto me, take it, and eat it up; which must be understood not literally, but mystically; and the sense is this, take the book, and diligently peruse it, and with as much eagerness as an hungry man would eat a meal; so greedy are some persons of reading, and as it were of devouring books; hence Cicero called q Cato "helluo librorum", a glutton at books: and in such manner John is bid to take and eat this book, and look into it, and read it over diligently, and consider what was in it, and meditate upon it, and digest the things contained in it, and lay them up in his mind and memory; and for the present hide and conceal them, in like manner as he was bid to seal, and not write what the seven thunders uttered; and so, though this book is represented to him as open in the angel's hand, yet he must take it and eat it, and hide it in his belly, because the things in it as yet were not to be accomplished: so for ordinary prophesying, or preaching, the ministers of the word should diligently read the Scriptures, constantly meditate on them, digest the truths of the Gospel in their own minds, and lay them up in the treasury of their hearts, and bring them forth from thence in due season:

and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey; as Ezekiel's roll was to him when he ate it, Ezekiel 3:1; the Alexandrian copy, instead of "thy belly", reads "thy heart".

q Cicero de Fittibus Bon. & Mal. l. 3. c. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And I went unto the angel - This is symbolic action, and is not to be understood literally. As it is not necessary to suppose that an angel literally descended, and stood upon the sea and the land, so it is not necessary to suppose that there was a literal act of going to him, and taking the book from his hand and eating it.

Give me the little book - In accordance with the command in Revelation 10:8. We may suppose, in regard to this:

(a)That the symbol was designed to represent that the book was to be used in the purpose here referred to, or was to be an important agent or instrumentality in accomplishing the purpose. The book is held forth in the hand of the angel as a striking emblem. There is a command to go and take it from his hand for some purpose not yet disclosed. All this seems to imply that the book - or what is represented by it - would be an important instrument in accomplishing the purpose here referred to.

  1. The application for the book might intimate that, on the part of him who made it, there would be some strong desire to possess it. He goes, indeed, in obedience to the command; but, at the same time, there would naturally be a desire to be in possession of the volume, or to know the contents (compare Revelation 5:4), and his approach to the angel for the book would be most naturally interpreted as expressive of such a wish.

And he said unto me, Take it - As if he had expected this application; or had come down to furnish him with this little volume, and had anticipated that the request would be made. There was no reluctance in giving it up; there was no attempt to withhold it; there was no prohibition of its use. The angel had no commission, and no desire to retain it for himself, and no hesitation in placing it in the bands of the seer on the first application. Would not the readiness with which God gives his Bible into the hands of human beings, in contradistinction from all human efforts to restrain its use, and to prevent its free circulation, be well symbolized by this act?

And eat it up - There is a similar command in Ezekiel 3:1. Of course, this is to he understood figuratively, for no one would interpret literally a command to eat a manuscript or volume. We have in common use a somewhat similar phrase, when we speak of devouring a book, which may illustrate this, and which is not liable to be misunderstood. In Jeremiah 15:16, we have similar language: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” Thus, in Latin, the words propinare, imbibere, devorare, deglutire, etc., are used to denote the greediness with which knowledge is acquired. Compare in the Apocrypha, 2 Esdras 14:38-40. The meaning here, then, is plain. He was to possess himself of the contents of the book; to receive it into his mind; to apply it, as we do food, for spiritual nourishment - truth having, in this respect, the same relation to the mind which food has to the body. If the little book was a symbol of the Bible, it would refer to the fact that the truths of that book became the nourisher and supporter of the public mind.

And it shall make thy belly bitter - This is a circumstance which does not occur in the corresponding place in Ezekiel 3:1-3. The expression here must refer to something that would occur after the symbolical action of “eating” the little book, or to some consequence of eating it - for the act of eating it is represented as pleasant: “in thy mouth sweet as honey.” The meaning here is, that the effect which followed from eating the book was painful or disagreeable - as food would be that was pleasant to the taste, but that produced bitter pain when eaten. The fulfillment of this would be found in one of two things:

(a) It might mean that the message to be delivered in consequence of devouring the book, or the message which it contained, would be of a painful or distressing character; that with whatever pleasure the book might be received and devoured, it would be found to contain a communication that would be indicative of woe or sorrow. This was the case with the little book that Ezekiel was commanded to eat up. Thus, in speaking of this book, it is said, “And it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe,” Ezekiel 2:10. Compare Revelation 3:4-9, where the contents of the book, and the effect of proclaiming the message which it contained, are more fully stated. So here the meaning may be, that, however gladly John may have taken the book, and with whatever pleasure he may have devoured its contents, yet that it would be found to be charged with the threatening of wrath, and with denunciations of a judgment to come, the delivery of which would be well represented by the “bitterness” which is said to have followed from “eating” the volume. Or.

(b) it may mean that the consequence of devouring the book, that is, of embracing its doctrines, would be persecutions and trouble - well represented by the “bitterness” that followed the “eating” of the volume. Either of these ideas would be a fulfillment of the proper meaning of the symbol; for, on the supposition that either of these occurred in fact, it would properly be symbolized by the eating of a volume that was sweet to the taste, but that made the belly bitter.

But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey - So in Ezekiel 3:3. The proper fulfillment of this it is not difficult to understand. It would well represent the pleasure derived from divine truth - the sweetness of the Word of God - the relish with which it is embraced by those that love it. On the supposition that the “little book” here refers to the Bible, and to the use which would be made of it in the times referred to, it would properly denote the relish which would exist for the sacred volume, and the happiness which would be found in its perusal; for this very image is frequently employed to denote this. Thus, in Psalms 19:10; “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Psalms 119:103; “how sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” We are then to look for the fulfillment of this in some prevailing delight or satisfaction, in the times referred to, in the Word of the Lord, or in the truths of revelation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 10:9. Take it, and eat it up — Fully comprehend its meaning; study it thoroughly.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile