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Quotes in Revelation

Most Bibles will note that Revelation quotes from the Old Testament 7 times, but is that true?

Given how much inspiration Revelation draws from the Old Testament, and possibly other Apocalyptic works, it’s difficult to say exactly how many times it quotes or paraphrases other texts. Here we give the 7 quotes that are usually listed for this book.

Revelation 2:27 quoting Psalm 2:9 (LXX)

Revelation 2:27

‘He will shepherd them with an iron rod,
And break them like clay pots.’

Psalm 2:9

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

‘With a rod of iron, you’ll lead them,
And break them like pots made of clay.’

✅ Match

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’

❌ Differs

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

(None of the surviving Dead Sea Scrolls contain this verse.)

Our comments:

Matches well with the Septuagint; the Masoretic Text differs, saying he will ‘break’ rather than ‘shepherd’/‘lead’.

Revelation 3:7 quoting Isaiah 22:22 (MT and DSS)

Revelation 3:7

‘The one who has the key of David, who opens and no one can close, and closes and no one can open.’

Isaiah 22:22

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

(These words do not appear in our Septuagint manuscripts.)

❌ Differs

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

‘And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; And he shall open, and none shall shut; And he shall shut, and none shall open.’

✅ Match

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

‘I will lay the key of David’s house on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.’ — Scroll 1Q Isaiah A

✅ Match

‘I will lay the key of … house on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. …will open.’ — Scroll 4Q55 Isaiah A

✅ Matches with some explanation

‘…on…’ — Scroll 4Q57 Isaiah C

❓ Unknown

‘…house on…’ — Scroll 4Q60 Isaiah F

❓ Unknown

Our comments:

The Masoretic Text and Dead Sea Scrolls (1Q Isaiah A and 4Q55 Isaiah A) closely match. Our ancient Septuagint manuscripts do not contain these words at all, however, that may be due to them being lost from the Septuagint somehow.

Revelation 6:16 quoting Hosea 10:8

Revelation 6:16

‘For they were saying to the mountains and rocks:’

‘Hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!’

Hosea 10:8

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

‘[…] So, they’ll say to the mountains:

‘Come and cover us over!’

‘And they’ll say to the hills:

‘Fall upon us!’’

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

‘[…] And they shall say to the mountains: ‘Cover us’, And to the hills: ‘Fall on us.’’

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

‘The high places … will be destroyed. … Cover us…’ – Scroll 4Q82 Minor Prophets

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Our comments:

Revelation 6:16 paraphrases Hosea 10:8, echoing the sentiment of people calling for mountains and hills to hide them from divine wrath.

Revelation 7:16-17 quoting Isaiah 49:10

Revelation 7:16-17

‘They’ll hunger no more and thirst no more,
And the sun won’t beat down upon them.’

‘For the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them
And guide them to springs of living water,’

Isaiah 49:10

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

‘There, you’ll no longer be hungry or thirsty,
And you won’t be burned by the sun or hot winds.
For My merciful one will send comfort to you
And lead you beside springs of water…’

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

They shall not hunger nor thirst,
Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them;
For He that hath compassion on them will lead them,
Even by the springs of water will He guide them.

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

‘They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.’ — Scroll 1Q Isaiah A

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

‘…not… he who has mercy on them will lead them. … by springs of…’ — Scroll 1Q Isaiah B

❓ Unknown

‘They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall …. strike them: … He will guide them … water.’ — Scroll 4Q58 Isaiah D

✅ Matches with some explanation

Our comments:

Revelation 7:16-17 paraphrases Isaiah 49:10. All major sources (LXX, MT, and DSS 1Q Isaiah A and 4Q58 Isaiah D) convey the idea of no hunger, thirst, or sun’s heat, and being led to springs of water. The primary conceptual difference is that Revelation attributes the shepherding and guiding to ‘the Lamb at the center of the throne’, while Isaiah refers to ‘My merciful one’ (LXX) or ‘He that hath compassion’ (MT, DSS).

Revelation 7:17 quoting Isaiah 25:8

Revelation 7:17

‘And God will wipe away their tears.’

Isaiah 25:8

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

‘[…] Yes, [Jehovah] will wipe the tears from each face […]‘

✅ Match

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

‘[…] And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces […]‘

✅ Match

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

‘The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. […]‘ — Scroll 1Q Isaiah A

✅ Match

Our comments:

Matches well with all available complete sources (LXX, MT, and DSS 1Q Isaiah A).

Revelation 19:15 quoting Psalm 2:9 (LXX)

Revelation 19:15

‘He will shepherd them with an iron rod.’

Psalm 2:9

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

‘With a rod of iron, you’ll lead them […]‘

✅ Matches with some explanation

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron […]‘

❌ Differs

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

(None of the surviving Dead Sea Scrolls contain this verse.)

Our comments:

Revelation 19:15 matches the Septuagint’s idea of ‘leading'/'shepherding’ with an iron rod, but omits the part about breaking clay pots. The Masoretic Text differs by focusing on ‘breaking’ rather than ‘shepherding’.

Revelation 21:4 quoting Isaiah 25:8

Revelation 21:4

‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
And death will be no more.
There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore,
For the former things have passed away.’

Isaiah 25:8

Greek Septuagint (our translation):

‘Then death, which prevails, will be swallowed;
Yes, [Jehovah] will wipe the tears from each face […].’

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Hebrew Masoretic Text (JPS):

‘He will swallow up death for ever; And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; […].’

✅ Matches as a paraphrase

Dead Sea Scrolls (WEB):

‘…sinners…’ — Scroll 4Q83 Psalms A

❓ Unknown

Our comments:

Revelation 21:4 paraphrases Isaiah 25:8, incorporating the ideas of death being eliminated and tears being wiped away. Revelation expands on these concepts by adding the absence of mourning, crying, and pain, and the passing of former things. Both the Septuagint and Masoretic Text versions of Isaiah 25:8 contain the core ideas of death being swallowed/no more and tears wiped away. The Dead Sea Scrolls fragment is too incomplete to compare.

Quotes Index

Or return to the introduction to this series.