Revelation 6:10

(10) How long . . .?—Better. Until when. O Master (the word is the correlative of “servant,” see Rev_6:10) the Holy and True, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood from (on) those who dwell on the earth? By a dramatic figure the persecuted and slain ones are represented as crying for retribution on their oppressors. It is not the Christians themselves (Luk_23:34; and Act_7:60) who cry for vengeance, any more than it was Abel himself who cried from the ground to God: it was the blood of Abel (Gen_4:10), the earth disclosed her blood, and refused to cover her slain. The forgotten or ignored wrongs of generations come forth from oblivion and cry for vengeance. It is a poetical description, but it is not fiction. The righteous blood shed does fall upon the world in retribution: the laws of God avenge themselves, though the victims do not live to behold the reward of the ungodly. On the epithets Holy and True, see Notes on Rev_3:7.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:10 The martyrs shouted to the Sovereign Lord because they trusted in his power to redress their grievances. • how long: Is God slow to act? Will justice be done? God does act decisively (see 6:12-14); his wrath (6:16-17) must be understood in terms of justice, fairness, and righteousness (see Exod 34:5-7; Neh 9:17; Pss 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2; Rom 2:6-11). • avenge our blood: This cry for God’s justice follows the pattern of imprecatory (vengeance) psalms (see Pss 6:3; 74:10; 79:5; 80:4; 137:1-9). It also reflects the covenant curses of Deut 28:53-57; 32:35 (quoted in Rom 12:19).

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Rev 6:10 . Like Clem. Rom., John is fond of δεσπότης as implying the divine might and majesty ( 3Ma 3:29 ; 3Ma 5:28 ). This severe and awe-inspiring conception ( cf. Philo, quis rer. div. haer. 6) means that God will vindicate his holiness, which had been outraged by the murder of the δοῦλοι for whom he is responsible. In contemporary pagan religions throughout Asia Minor, the punishment of wrong-doing is often conceived in the same way, viz. , as the answer to the sufferer’s appeal ( cf. Introd. § 2), not simply as a spontaneous act of divine retribution. “How long wilt thou refrain from charging and avenging our blood upon ( ἐκ as in 1Sa 24:13 , Psa 42:1 ) those who dwell on the earth” ( i.e. , pagans)? The bleeding heart of primitive Christendom stands up and cries, “I have suffered”. For ἐκδικεῖν αἷμα cf. Dittenberger’s Sylloge Inscript. Graec. 816 (1 cent. A.D.) ἵνα ἐγδικήσῃς τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἀναίτιον , etc.; for ἐκδ . ἐκ (= מן ) of vengeance, cf. Luk 18:3-8 ( ἀπὸ ), a close parallel in thought, though this pathetic, impatient thirst for blood-revenge, which has “the full drift of Psa 94 below it” (Selwyn) is inferior not only to 1Pe 2:23 but to the synoptic wail. The Jewish atmosphere is unmistakable ( cf. 2Ma 7:36 ; also Deissmann’s Licht vom Osten , 312 f.), but this does not mean that the passage was necessarily written by a Jew. In that case we should have expected some allusion to the vicarious, atoning power of the martyrs’ death ( R. J. 181). The prophet evidently anticipated further persecution, since he wrote on the verge of the end precipitated by the Domitianic policy ( cf. on Rev 2:13 ). Such persecution follows natural disturbances, as in the synoptic apocalypse (Mat 24:6-7 ; Mat 24:21 f.), but the outline of the fifth seal is taken from Enoch, where (xlvii.) the prayer and blood of the martyred saints “rise from the earth before the Lord of Spirits,” while the angels rejoice that such blood has not been shed in vain. In En. xcvii. 3 5 the prayer of the righteous for vengeance overtakes their persecutors on the day of judgment with woeful issues (xxix. 3, 16). “Persist in your cry for judgment, and it shall appear unto you; for all your tribulation will be visited on the rulers, and on all their helpers, and on those who plundered you” (civ. 3, cf. xxii. 6, 7, where Abel’s pirit complains of Cain). κατ . κ . τ . λ . always in Apocalypse opposed to the saints, almost as “the world” to “the pious” in modern phraseology. This usage is largely paralleled by that of the Noachic interpolations in Enoch (see Charles on xxxvii. 5), where the phrase has either unfavourable or neutral associations. ἅγιος here (as Joh 17:11 = Did. x. 3, πανάγιος Clem. Rom. xxxv. 3, lviii. 1) applied by a comparatively rare usage (1Pe 1:15 and Rev 4:8 being dependent on O.T.) to God, whose intense holiness must be in antagonism to the evil and contradictions of the world (Titius, 9 11).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

How long--Greek, "Until when?" As in the parable the woman (symbol of the Church) cries day and night to the unjust judge for justice against her adversary who is always oppressing her (compare below, Rev 12:10); so the elect (not only on earth, but under Christ's covering, and in His presence in Paradise) cry day and night to God, who will assuredly, in His own time, avenge His and their cause, "though He bear long with them." These passages need not be restricted to some particular martyrdoms, but have been, and are receiving, and shall receive partial fulfilments, until their last exhaustive fulfilment before Christ's coming. So as to the other events foretold here. The glory even of those in Paradise will only be complete when Christ's and the Church's foes are cast out, and the earth will become Christ's kingdom at His coming to raise the sleeping saints.

Lord--Greek, "Master"; implying that He has them and their foes and all His creatures as absolutely at His disposal, as a master has his slaves; hence, in Rev 6:11, "fellow servants," or fellow slaves follows.

holy--Greek, "the Holy one."

avenge--"exact vengeance for our blood."

on--Greek, "from them."

that dwell on the earth--the ungodly, of earth, earthly, as distinguished from the Church, whose home and heart are even now in heavenly places.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. And they cried with a loud voice] That is, their blood, like that of Abel, cried for vengeance; for we are not to suppose that there was any thing like a vindictive spirit in those happy and holy souls who had shed their blood for the testimony of Jesus. We sometimes say Blood cries for blood; that is, in the order of Divine justice, every murderer, and every murdering persecutor, shall be punished.

O Lord] ο δεσποτης Sovereign Lord, supreme Ruler; one having and exercising unlimited and uncontrolled authority.

Holy] In thy own nature, hating iniquity;

And true] In all thy promises and threatenings;

Dost thou not judge] The persecutors;

And avenge our blood] Inflict signal punishment;

On them that dwell on the earth?] Probably meaning the persecuting Jews; they dwelt επιτηςγης, upon that land, a form of speech by which Judea is often signified in the New Testament.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. How long] Cf. Psa_94:3.

O Lord] Not the ordinary word of reverence applied to God, but one meaning (as we say) “lord and master.” It is used of God in Luk_2:29, Act_4:24; and of Christ in Judges 4 (according to the right reading and probable translation), 2Pe_2:1. Perhaps, as the usual word “Lord” in the N. T. and other Hellenistic writings stands for the Name Jehovah, so this is used where the sense “Lord” is really meant, i.e. it answers to the name Adonai, which the Jews pronounced instead of the Unutterable Name, and which Symeon and the Apostolic Church no doubt used in their thanksgivings. Their use of the word, especially in the latter instance, shews that it is no argument for these Martyrs being only Jews—as though it proved a servile rather than filial spirit, as some have imagined: at most, it only proves Jewish habits of expression, and it needs no proof that such prevail throughout this Book.

dost thou not … avenge] It has been argued again from this, that the temper of the Martyrs’ souls is less than Christian. But however right it may be to contrast 2Ch_24:22 with Act_7:60, no one can surely imagine that the spirit of this passage is a selfish desire for personal vengeance. As we meet with the germ of the thought in Psa_94:3, so we have a developement of it, substantially identical with this, from the mouth of Christ Himself, Luk_18:2-8. Faith looks on evil with a hatred like God’s own—shares God’s will that it shall not triumph, and trusts in God that it will not: but without sharing the depth of God’s counsels, Who knows best how and when to overthrow it. Therefore the Church on earth (the probable meaning of the Widow) and the Saints in heaven, cry alike to God to execute His own purpose, and bring the reign of evil to an end—and He does not yet, but He surely will.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they cried with a loud voice,.... With great ardour and fervency, being very pressing and importunate; and which shows that they were awake, and not asleep, and that the soul does not sleep with the body in the grave, or is after the death of that in a state of insensibility and inactivity, as some imagine:

saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true; the person they address is either the Lamb in the midst of the throne, with whom they were, and under the shelter of whom they were safe and happy; or God the Father, who sat upon the throne, whom they call "holy", because being so in his nature, and as appears in all his works, he could not but hate, and so revenge the evil that was done to them by their cruel persecutors; and whereas he is "true" to all his threatenings, as well as his promises, and faithful to every word of his, they doubted not but he would judge and avenge them of their enemies; but they seem desirous to know how long it would be first: saying,

dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? the men of the world, idolatrous persons, earthly princes, who had shed their blood; and which they desire not out of any sinful or malicious affection, but that the holiness and justice of God might appear, and also his truth and faithfulness in his promises to them, and threatenings to his enemies; and that God in all things might be glorified, and his church and people on earth might be supported and delivered; see Job 24:12.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

Ver. 10. And they cried] When God intends deliverance to his people, he poureth out upon them "the spirit of grace and supplication," Zec 12:9-10.

How long, O Lord] Calvin had this speech always in his mouth, breathing out his holy desires in the behalf of the afflicted Churches, with whose sufferings he was more affected than with anything that befell himself. (Beza in Vita.)

Dost thou not judge and avenge] The glorified souls cannot be properly said to desire revenge; but the cry which they make must be understood to be the provocation of God to vengeance which their sufferings produce in the same sort as Abel’s blood is said to cry. (Thorndike.)

That dwell on the earth] In opposition to the inhabitants of heaven. As names written in heaven stand opposed to those that are written in the earth, Luk 10:20; Jer 17:13.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they cried with a loud voice; their blood cried, or their souls cried to God,

saying, How long, O Lord, holy; and therefore thou canst not abide iniquity, and of all iniquity canst least abide innocent blood, which is the blood of thy saints, whose blood is precious in thy sight.

And true; and who art true to thy word of threatenings against blood thirsty men, and to thy promises for the deliverance of thy people.

Dost thou net judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Dost thou not judge our cause, and avenge us, who have committed vengeance to thee, not daring to avenge ourselves upon wicked men, who dwelling upon the earth are seen, and their practices known to and by thee, and are under thy power, so as thou canst at pleasure do it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. How long—Of course there was no literal utterance by martyred souls of these words. It is a dramatic form of expressing the profound thought that murdered innocence has a claim on the divine justice for timely retribution. The words are an inspired assurance that Jehovah holds himself bound to be not only holy and true, but retributively just. And this is strikingly recognised by Jesus himself in the parable of the unjust judge, and his closing words, so wonderfully like the present passage: “Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.” Luk_18:7-8, where see our notes.

Judge—An appeal for either temporal retribution or for a speedy final judgment throne.

Them that dwell on the earth—The profane world; omitting all mention of the few saintly exceptions. So our Lord: “Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” Mat_24:9.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they cried with a loud voice, saying; i.e. the souls cried. Ebrard, Dusterdieck, Hengstenberg, make "the slain" nominative, in contradistinction to the "souls," which is both unnecessary and unnatural. Zullig compares Gen_4:10, "The voice of thy brother"s blood crieth unto me from the ground." How long? (comp. Zec_1:12, Zec_1:13, "How long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem? And the Lord answered with good words and comfortable words No doubt the souls waiting in Paradise are answered by "comfortable words," yet, not having lost their interest in earthly struggles, nor their longing for the triumphant vindication of God"s glory, they cry, "How long?," not as needing the time to be shortened for their own sakes, for they rest, though not yet entered into the fulness of God"s glory. O Lord, holy and true; O Master, the holy and true (Revised Version). "Master" (despothv) is the correlative of "servant" (doulov). This is the only instance of its occurrence in the Apocalypse. (On "true," see previous passages.) Deal thou not judge and avenge our blood. The cry is not a petition for personal revenge, but a request for the termination of those ills which for a time afflict man, and the termination of which must, by virtue of God"s eternal justice, be accompanied by visible retribution on the wicked. (Cf. Bede, "Those souls which offered themselves a living sacrifice to God pray eternally for his coming to judgment, not from any vindictive feeling against their enemies, but in a spirit of zeal and love for God"s glory and justice, mid for the coming of that day when sin, which is rebellion against him, will be destroyed, and their own bodies will be raised. And so in that prayer wherein Christ teaches us to forgive our enemies, we are also taught to say, "Thy kingdom come. The passage has given rise to varying interpretations, which are thought to be more consonant with the spirit of the gospel. Thus Williams would understand the souls to represent only the Old Testament saints, especially as it is not explicitly said that they died for the witness of Jesus, as in Rev_20:4. On them that dwell on the earth. That is, on the worldly, those who have taken the side of the world in its conflict with Christianity.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they cried - This cry did not begin now, but under the first Roman persecution. The Roman themselves had already avenged the martyrs slain by the Jews on that whole nation. How long - They knew their blood would be avenged; but not immediately, as is now shown them. O Lord - The Greek word properly signifies the master of a family: it is therefore beautifully used by these, who are peculiarly of the household of God. Thou Holy One and true - Both the holiness and truth of God require him to execute judgment and vengeance. Dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? - There is no impure affection in heaven: therefore, this desire of theirs is pure and suitable to the will of God. The martyrs are concerned for the praise of their Master, of his holiness and truth: and the praise is given him, chap. xix, 2, where the prayer of the martyrs is changed into a thanksgiving:- Thou holy One and true: "True and right are thy judgments." How long dost thou not judge "He hath judged the great whore, and avenge our blood? and hath avenged the blood of his servants."

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

10. And they cried with a loud voice. Their cry denotes that the church had suffered long and severely, and they raise a cry for deliverance.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

10. ἔκραξαν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, λέγοντες. Hipp[245] reads καὶ ἐβόησαν καὶ εἶπον πρὸς τὸν θεόν.

[245] St Hippolytus. The readings not given by Tischendorf are from the newly published 4th book of his commentary on Daniel.

10. ἕως πότε. Psalms 94 (93 LXX.):3 ἕως πότε ἁμαρτωλοὶ κύριε, ἕως πότε ἁμαρτωλοὶ καυχήσονται;

ὁ δεσπότης. Not the ordinary word of reverence applied to God, but one meaning (as we say) “lord and master.” It is used of God in Luk 2:29; Act 4:24, and of Christ in Jud 1:4 (according to the right reading and probable translation); 2Pe 2:1. Perhaps, as the usual word “Lord” in the N.T. and other Hellenistic writings stands for the Name Jehovah, so this is used where the sense “Lord” is really meant, i.e. it answers to the name Adonai, which the Jews pronounced instead of the Unutterable Name, and which Symeon and the Apostolic Church no doubt used in their thanksgivings. The use of the word after the Incarnation, and especially after the Ascension, shews that it is no argument for these Martyrs being only Jews—as though it proved a servile rather than filial spirit, as some have imagined: at most, it only proves Jewish habits of expression, and it needs no proof that such prevail throughout this Book.

οὐ κρίνεις καὶ ἐκδικεῖς. It has been argued again from this, that the temper of the Martyrs’ souls is less than Christian. But however right it may be to contrast 2Ch 24:22 with Act 7:60, no one can surely imagine that the spirit of this passage is a selfish desire for personal vengeance. As we meet with the germ of the thought in Psa 94:3, so we have a developement of it, substantially identical with this, from the mouth of Christ Himself, Luk 18:2-8. Faith looks on evil with a hatred like God’s own—shares God’s will that it shall not triumph and trusts in God that it will not: but without sharing the depth of God’s counsels, Who knows best how and when to overthrow it. Therefore the Church on earth (the probable meaning of the Widow) and the Saints in heaven cry alike to God to execute His own purpose, and bring the reign of evil to an end—and He does not yet, but He surely will.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They cried [εκραζον] . See on Mr 5:5.

How long [εως ποτε] . Lit., until when. Compare Zec 1:12.

O Lord [ο δεσποτης] . See on 2Pe 2:1. Only here in Revelation. Addressed to God rather than to Christ, and breathing, as Professor Milligan remarks, "the feeling of Old Testament rather than of New Testament relation." Compare Act 4:24; Jude 1:4.

True [αληθινος] . See on Joh 1:9; Rev 3:7.

Judge [κρινεις] . Originally the verb means to separate; thence the idea of selection : to pick out, and so to discriminate or judge.

Avenge [εκδικεις] . Compare Luk 18:3; Rom 12:19.

On the earth [επι της γης] . Earth, in Revelation, is generally to be understood of the ungodly earth.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.