What Does Revelation 19:6 Mean?
And I hear the voice of a great crowd, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah! For the LORD God who holds all governs.
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 heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.THE KEY
A multitude, many waters, and thunder are heard as one voice, and that voice announces that the All-Ruler reigns.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you now in a soundscape where many voices and forces do not drown out the central declaration: the Lord God, the All-Ruler, reigns. Praise is not solitary or quiet; it rises as a multitude, as waters, as thunder.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Many voices can only produce confusion and division. Here the multitude, waters, and thunder converge in one praise, carrying a clear declaration.
THE ROOT
παντοκράτωρ
pantokratōr
GROWS FROM
κρατ- (krat-), in παντοκράτωρ (pan + kratōr)
to hold sway, exercise strength, or rule
“who holds all” in this verse is pantokratōr. The word joins pan, “all,” to the family of strength and rule: it names the one who holds sway over all. The waters and thunder sound within that all-encompassing rule.
ALSO GROWS
kratos: strength, might, dominion
κράτος
The verse’s “mighty thunderings” echo the force associated with this root.
krateō: to hold, take hold, or rule
κρατέω
It shows the active sense within “omnipotent”: power that holds sway.
krataios: strong, mighty
κραταιός
This related form echoes the overwhelming force of the waters and thunder.
ἐβασίλευσεν
ebasileusen
GROWS FROM
βασιλ- (basil-), in the βασιλεύω (basileuō) word family
king, kingship, or exercising royal rule
“governs” in this verse is ebasileusen. The verb translated “reigneth” shares its root with βασιλεία (basileia), “kingdom” or “kingship.” The verse speaks of active governance, while the many sounds become its proclamation.
ALSO GROWS
basileus: king
βασιλεύς
The verb of reigning grows from the same word family as the ruler.
basileia: kingdom, kingship, governance
βασιλεία
It connects the act of reigning to the governance declared in the verse.
basileuō: to reign, rule as king
βασιλεύω
This is the verb family behind “reigneth,” naming the active rule the chorus proclaims.
THE PATTERN
Across Scripture, overwhelming voices and natural force make divine presence or rule audible, gathering into a clear proclamation.
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters. The God of weight thunders. The LORD is upon many waters.And behold, the weight of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the voice of many waters, and the earth was lit from his weight.And the seventh messenger blows the trumpet, and great voices sound in heaven, saying, The governance of the world becomes the governance of our Lord and of his Anointed One, and he reigns into the ages of the ages.THE THREAD
And the seventh messenger blows the trumpet, and great voices sound in heaven, saying, The governance of the world becomes the governance of our Lord and of his Anointed One, and he reigns into the ages of the ages.The verb translated “reign” here belongs to the same βασιλεύω (basileuō), “to reign,” word family as Revelation 19:6. Revelation 11:15 makes the declaration’s reach plain: the voices announce the governance that belongs to the Lord.
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