Revelation - 11:16

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16 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God's throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Revelation 11:16.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God,
And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces and adored God, saying:
And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
And the four and twenty elders, who sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God,
and the twenty and four elders, who before God are sitting upon their thrones, did fall upon their faces, and did bow before God,
Then the twenty-four Elders, who sit on thrones in the presence of God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,
And the four and twenty rulers, who are seated before God on their high seats, went down on their faces and gave worship to God, saying,
And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones in the sight of God, fell upon their faces, and they adored God, saying:
At this the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, prostrated themselves on their faces and worshiped Him,

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And the four and twenty elders which sat - See the notes on Revelation 4:4.
Fell upon their faces, and worshipped God - Prostrated themselves before him - the usual form of profound adoration. See the notes on Revelation 5:8-14.

The four and twenty elders - The representatives of the universal Church of Christ. See on Revelation 5:8-10 (note).

(29) And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
(29) As before in (Revelation 7:11). This giving of thanks is altogether of the same content with the words going before.

And the four and twenty elders,.... The same with those in Revelation 4:4;
which sat before God on their seats; as they are also there described; and which may be expressive of their enjoyment of the divine Presence; and also of their quiet and undisturbed situation, being restored to their former places, which they now possess without molestation and interruption; for as these are the representatives of Gospel churches in all ages, they were with the church in the wilderness during the 1260 days, or years: hence we hear nothing of them from the time of the sealing of the hundred and forty and four thousand, and during the sounding of the trumpets; but now they are restored to their former seats, and upon this wonderful change of things in the world, they
fell upon their faces and worshipped God; in a very humble and reverential posture, and in a way of praise and thanksgiving.

before God--B and Syriac read, "before the throne of God." But A, C, Vulgate, and Coptic read as English Version.
seats--Greek, "thrones."

The four and twenty elders, which sat before God. These heavenly princes, in some way identified with the work of redemption, join in worship and praises. "The mystery of God has been finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel" (Revelation 10:7). The eighteenth verse will sufficiently explain why this also should be called a woe trumpet. It is the trumpet of judgment.

And the four and twenty elders - These shall reign over the earth, Revelation 5:10. Who sit before God on their thrones - which we do not read of any angel.

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