Revelation 19:1-10
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 19
Song of Victory and Wedding Day of the Lamb.[a] 1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting:
“Alleluia![b]
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
And he has paid her back
for the blood of his servants.”
3 Once again they shouted:
“Alleluia!
Her smoke will rise
forever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, and they cried:
“Amen. Alleluia!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
and all who fear him,
small and great alike.”
6 And I heard what seemed to be the sound of a vast multitude, like the sound of a torrential stream or of great peals of thunder, crying out:
“Alleluia.
The reign of the Lord our God,
the Almighty, has begun.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb has come,
and the bride has made herself ready.
8 She has been permitted to wear
a bright and clean garment of fine linen.”
(The fine linen represents the righteous deeds of the saints.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed[c] are those who are invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brethren who have given witness to Jesus.[d] Worship God! For the witness to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Revelation 19:1 No other image could better evoke the fulfillment of all the expectations of believers than this vast heavenly liturgy and the vision of the wedding feast (see Mt 22:1-14; 25:1-13).
The plea of the martyrs (see Rev 6:9) has been heard; the immense throng, along with the twenty-four elders and the four living beings, makes up the entire Church, reunited at last. The Kingdom of God reveals itself in all its reality. It is described as Christ’s marriage to the Church and as the complete manifestation of the Covenant, which is God’s ardent, jealous love for his people (see Isa 54:1-8; Hos 2:16-18) and Christ’s nuptial love for his Church (see Eph 5:23, 25, 32; see also Jn 3:29). - Revelation 19:1 Alleluia: an important exclamation of praise in the Psalms that is found only here in the New Testament. It is derived from two Hebrew words meaning “Praise the Lord.”
- Revelation 19:9 Blessed: the fourth beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3).
- Revelation 19:10 Witness to Jesus: the proclamation that the predictions of the Prophets have been truly fulfilled.
