What Does Revelation 11:3 Mean?
And I give to my two witnesses, and they prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, wrapped in sackcloth.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.THE KEY
Here, testimony is a received power that speaks openly while grief is still worn on the body.
THE MEANING
The verse presents witness as something entrusted: these voices receive power to speak rather than manufacturing it themselves. They prophesy through a long, measured span while sackcloth keeps grief visible beside their speech. In the reader’s present, sorrow does not by itself cancel a voice’s capacity to testify.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that grief makes truthful witness impossible: here, the witnesses speak while clothed in mourning.
THE ROOT
μάρτυσίν
martysin
GROWS FROM
μαρτυρ-
martyr-
The Greek word family for witness and testimony.
“witnesses” in this verse is martysin. The word family joins the witness, the testimony, and the act of testifying, making these figures more than observers: they are voices bearing a message. English “martyr” descends from μάρτυς (martys, witness), preserving the connection between testimony and bearing witness at great cost.
ALSO GROWS
martyria: testimony
μαρτυρία
The witnesses’ speech is testimony made public.
martyreō: to testify, bear witness
μαρτυρέω
This verb names the act these witnesses carry out by prophesying.
δώσω
dōsō
GROWS FROM
δίδω-
didō-
To give, grant, or place something in another’s hands.
“give to” in this verse is dōsō. The verse presents their capacity as received: the speaker says, “I will give” to the witnesses. The power in the KJV is therefore something granted to them, not a force they generate on their own.
ALSO GROWS
dosis: giving, gift
δόσις
It keeps the focus on what is given to the witnesses.
doma: gift
δόμα
It echoes the verse’s picture of authority as something bestowed.
προφητεύσουσιν
prophēteusousin
GROWS FROM
προφητ-
prophēt-
Prophetic speech: speaking as a prophet.
“prophesy” in this verse is prophēteusousin. The word family keeps the prophet, the act of prophesying, and prophecy together. These witnesses are not merely signs to look at; their work is spoken proclamation, even as their sackcloth makes grief visible.
ALSO GROWS
prophētēs: prophet
προφήτης
It names the speaker whose role is expressed by their prophesying.
prophēteia: prophecy, prophetic speech
προφητεία
It names the message or utterance that the witnesses speak.
THE PATTERN
Public testimony is established and recognized through more than one witness.
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any crookedness, or for any falling short, in it he misses the mark; upon the mouth of two witnesses, or upon the mouth of three witnesses, the word shall stand.But if he does not hear you, take along with you one or two more, so that upon the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.THE THREAD
And from Jesus, the Anointed One, the steady witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has washed us from our shortcomings in his own blood,Revelation 1:5 uses μάρτυς (martys, witness) for Jesus as “the faithful witness.” The shared Greek word connects the two witnesses’ public speech with a testimony that Revelation also names as part of Jesus’ character.
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