And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it,] and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
9. I went ] Apparently from his place in heaven to the earth: but there are difficulties in tracing coherently the changes in the point of view.
and said unto him, Give me, &c.] Read, saying unto him that he should give me.
eat it up ] Eze 2:8; Eze 3:3.
it shall make thy belly bitter ] This Ezekiel’s roll did not do. We may presume that this little book, like the O. T. one, contained “lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” To both prophets, the first result of absorbing the words of God and making them their own (Jer 15:16) is delight at communion with Him and enlightenment by Him: but the Priest of the Lord did not feel, as the Disciple of Jesus did, the after-thought of bitterness the Christ-like sorrow for those against whom God’s wrath is revealed, who “knew not the time of their visitation.”
“It grieves so sore his tender heart
To see God’s ransom’d world in fear and wrath depart.”
It is generally held, in one form or another, that this “little book” symbolises or contains “the mystery of God,” the approaching completion of which has just been announced. Some needlessly combine with this the theory (see note on Rev 10:1) that it contains the whole or part of this book of the Revelation. But really the surest clue to its meaning is the parallel passage in Ezekiel: if we say that the book contains “the Revelation of God’s Judgement” (remembering how that Revelation is described in Rom 1:18) we shall speak as definitely as is safe.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I went unto the angel – This is symbolic action, and is not to be understood literally. As it is not necessary to suppose that an angel literally descended, and stood upon the sea and the land, so it is not necessary to suppose that there was a literal act of going to him, and taking the book from his hand and eating it.
Give me the little book – In accordance with the command in Rev 10:8. We may suppose, in regard to this:
(a)That the symbol was designed to represent that the book was to be used in the purpose here referred to, or was to be an important agent or instrumentality in accomplishing the purpose. The book is held forth in the hand of the angel as a striking emblem. There is a command to go and take it from his hand for some purpose not yet disclosed. All this seems to imply that the book – or what is represented by it – would be an important instrument in accomplishing the purpose here referred to.
- The application for the book might intimate that, on the part of him who made it, there would be some strong desire to possess it. He goes, indeed, in obedience to the command; but, at the same time, there would naturally be a desire to be in possession of the volume, or to know the contents (compare Rev 5:4), and his approach to the angel for the book would be most naturally interpreted as expressive of such a wish.
And he said unto me, Take it – As if he had expected this application; or had come down to furnish him with this little volume, and had anticipated that the request would be made. There was no reluctance in giving it up; there was no attempt to withhold it; there was no prohibition of its use. The angel had no commission, and no desire to retain it for himself, and no hesitation in placing it in the bands of the seer on the first application. Would not the readiness with which God gives his Bible into the hands of human beings, in contradistinction from all human efforts to restrain its use, and to prevent its free circulation, be well symbolized by this act?
And eat it up – There is a similar command in Eze 3:1. Of course, this is to he understood figuratively, for no one would interpret literally a command to eat a manuscript or volume. We have in common use a somewhat similar phrase, when we speak of devouring a book, which may illustrate this, and which is not liable to be misunderstood. In Jer 15:16, we have similar language: Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. Thus, in Latin, the words propinare, imbibere, devorare, deglutire, etc., are used to denote the greediness with which knowledge is acquired. Compare in the Apocrypha, 2 Esdras 14:38-40. The meaning here, then, is plain. He was to possess himself of the contents of the book; to receive it into his mind; to apply it, as we do food, for spiritual nourishment – truth having, in this respect, the same relation to the mind which food has to the body. If the little book was a symbol of the Bible, it would refer to the fact that the truths of that book became the nourisher and supporter of the public mind.
And it shall make thy belly bitter – This is a circumstance which does not occur in the corresponding place in Eze 3:1-3. The expression here must refer to something that would occur after the symbolical action of eating the little book, or to some consequence of eating it – for the act of eating it is represented as pleasant: in thy mouth sweet as honey. The meaning here is, that the effect which followed from eating the book was painful or disagreeable – as food would be that was pleasant to the taste, but that produced bitter pain when eaten. The fulfillment of this would be found in one of two things:
(a) It might mean that the message to be delivered in consequence of devouring the book, or the message which it contained, would be of a painful or distressing character; that with whatever pleasure the book might be received and devoured, it would be found to contain a communication that would be indicative of woe or sorrow. This was the case with the little book that Ezekiel was commanded to eat up. Thus, in speaking of this book, it is said, And it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe, Eze 2:10. Compare Rev 3:4-9, where the contents of the book, and the effect of proclaiming the message which it contained, are more fully stated. So here the meaning may be, that, however gladly John may have taken the book, and with whatever pleasure he may have devoured its contents, yet that it would be found to be charged with the threatening of wrath, and with denunciations of a judgment to come, the delivery of which would be well represented by the bitterness which is said to have followed from eating the volume. Or.
(b) it may mean that the consequence of devouring the book, that is, of embracing its doctrines, would be persecutions and trouble – well represented by the bitterness that followed the eating of the volume. Either of these ideas would be a fulfillment of the proper meaning of the symbol; for, on the supposition that either of these occurred in fact, it would properly be symbolized by the eating of a volume that was sweet to the taste, but that made the belly bitter.
But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey – So in Eze 3:3. The proper fulfillment of this it is not difficult to understand. It would well represent the pleasure derived from divine truth – the sweetness of the Word of God – the relish with which it is embraced by those that love it. On the supposition that the little book here refers to the Bible, and to the use which would be made of it in the times referred to, it would properly denote the relish which would exist for the sacred volume, and the happiness which would be found in its perusal; for this very image is frequently employed to denote this. Thus, in Psa 19:10; More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Psa 119:103; how sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. We are then to look for the fulfillment of this in some prevailing delight or satisfaction, in the times referred to, in the Word of the Lord, or in the truths of revelation.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Take it, and eat it up] Fully comprehend its meaning; study it thoroughly.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Take it, and eat it up: thus Ezekiel was bidden to eat the roll; and it was in his mouth as sweet as honey, Eze 2:8; 3:3. The eating of a book signifies the due reading of it, digesting it, and meditating upon the matters in it.
And it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey; it should be sweet in his month, as it was the revelation of the mind and will of God, (which is sweet to all pious souls; see Jer 15:16), but in his belly it should be bitter, being the revelation of the Divine will, as to the bringing such terrible judgments upon an impenitent people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. I wentGreek, “Iwent away.” John here leaves heaven, his standing-pointof observation heretofore, to be near the angel standing on the earthand sea.
GiveA, B, C, andVulgate read the infinitive, “Telling him to give.“
eat it upappropriateits contents so entirely as to be assimilated with (as food), andbecome part of thyself, so as to impart them the more vividly toothers. His finding the roll sweet to the taste at first, is becauseit was the Lord’s will he was doing, and because, divesting himselfof carnal feeling, he regarded God’s will as always agreeable,however bitter might be the message of judgment to be announced.Compare Ps 40:8, Margin,as to Christ’s inner complete appropriation of God’s word.
thy belly bitterparallelto Eze 2:10, “There waswritten therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.”
as honey (Psa 19:10;Psa 119:103). Honey, sweet to themouth, sometimes turns into bile in the stomach. The thought that Godwould be glorified (Rev 11:3-6;Rev 11:11-18) gave him thesweetest pleasure. Yet, afterwards the belly, or carnalnatural feeling, was embittered with grief at the prophecy of thecoming bitter persecutions of the Church (Re11:7-10); compare Joh 16:1;Joh 16:2. The revelation of thesecrets of futurity is sweet to one at first, but bitterand distasteful to our natural man, when we learn the cross which isto be borne before the crown shall be won. John was grieved at thecoming apostasy and the sufferings of the Church at the hands ofAntichrist.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I went to the angel,…. According to the order given him; he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; and, indeed, whither should any go knowledge but to him who has the words of eternal life, and is the great prophet of the church? and to whom should John go to qualify him for prophesying, but to him, who, as man and Mediator, had this revelation of future things given him? Re 1:1;
and said unto him, give me the little book; he did not take it without his leave, but in a modest and humble manner asks him to give it him, that he might deliver out the prophecies in it to others: so ordinary prophets and ministers of the word should go to Christ, to have their eyes opened, their understandings enlightened, that they may understand the Scriptures, and explain them to others:
and he said unto me, take it, and eat it up; which must be understood not literally, but mystically; and the sense is this, take the book, and diligently peruse it, and with as much eagerness as an hungry man would eat a meal; so greedy are some persons of reading, and as it were of devouring books; hence Cicero called q Cato “helluo librorum”, a glutton at books: and in such manner John is bid to take and eat this book, and look into it, and read it over diligently, and consider what was in it, and meditate upon it, and digest the things contained in it, and lay them up in his mind and memory; and for the present hide and conceal them, in like manner as he was bid to seal, and not write what the seven thunders uttered; and so, though this book is represented to him as open in the angel’s hand, yet he must take it and eat it, and hide it in his belly, because the things in it as yet were not to be accomplished: so for ordinary prophesying, or preaching, the ministers of the word should diligently read the Scriptures, constantly meditate on them, digest the truths of the Gospel in their own minds, and lay them up in the treasury of their hearts, and bring them forth from thence in due season:
and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey; as Ezekiel’s roll was to him when he ate it, Eze 3:1; the Alexandrian copy, instead of “thy belly”, reads “thy heart”.
q Cicero de Fittibus Bon. & Mal. l. 3. c. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
I went (). Second aorist active indicative (– form), “I went away” (–) to the angel. John left his position by the door of heaven (4:1).
That he should give (). Second aorist active infinitive of , indirect command after (bidding) for in the direct discourse (second aorist active imperative second person singular). This use of to bid occurs in Rev 13:14; Acts 21:21.
He saith (). Dramatic vivid present active indicative of .
Take it and eat it up ( ). Second aorist (effective) active imperatives of and (perfective use of , “eat down,” we say “eat up”). See the same metaphor in Ezek 3:1-3; Jer 15:6. The book was already open and was not to be read aloud, but to be digested mentally by John.
It shall make thy belly bitter ( ). Future active of , for which verb see Rev 8:11; Rev 10:10; Col 3:19. There is no reference in Ezekiel or Jeremiah to the bitterness here mentioned.
Sweet as honey ( ). For the sweetness of the roll see Ps 19:10; Ps 119:103. “Every revelation of God’s purposes, even though a mere fragment, a , is ‘bitter-sweet,’ disclosing judgement as well as mercy” (Swete). Deep and bitter sorrows confront John as he comes to understand God’s will and way.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
I went [] . The preposition ajpo has the force of away. I went away from the place where I was standing.
Eat it up. Compare Eze 3:1 – 3; Jer 14:16.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And I went unto the angel,” (kai apeltha pros ton angelon) “And I went away toward the angel, of my own accord,” I approached the mighty angel with the little book (pamphlet) in his hand, Rev 10:2; Rev 10:8.
2) “And said unto him, Give me the little book,” (legon auto dounai moi to biblaridion) “Telling him (requiring him) to give to me (deliver to me) the little (small) scroll,” the pamphlet.
3) “And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up;- (kai legei moi labe kai kataphage auto) “And he says (said) to me (directly) take it and eat it down (swallow it),” absorb or digest it, make the word story of revelation your own, a part of you, John, as Ezekiel did Eze 2:9 to Eze 3:3.
4) “And it shall make thy belly bitter,” (kai pikranei sou ten koilian) “and it will embitter thy stomach,” make thy stomach ache. John’s future or the future of Israel, his people, was yet to have bitterness, pain, agony, and sorrow, Rev 11:2; Rev 12:13.
5) “But it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey,” (all’ en to stomati sou estai gluku hos meli) “but in thy mouth it shall be sweet, similar to honey,” Jer 15:16; Eze 2:8; Eze 3:3; Psa 19:9-10. The books that help one most are those that make one think the most. The slowest and hardest way of learning is by easy reading. Worthwhile, weighty thought-content requires deliberate absorption and digestion, be the matter pleasant or unpleasant, Ecc 12:13.
EATING A BOOK?
Yes; where is the difficulty? The phrase is familiar enough – “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest,” etc. What is eaten comes to be assimilated, and so to become a portion of one’s own flesh and blood. Before the eating it lies out side us. Until it is eaten, it is only that which would nourish if it were eaten, but by no other process than by our eating it can it serve its purpose or ours. This is one of God’s parables in nature. His words of truth and grace are meant to be the life of human souls, on which they grow and thrive. The assimilation by reading, thinking, faith, and prayer is necessary if God’s Word is to be the support of our souls. Pulpit Com.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9. Eat it up Receive it within thee, and assimilate within and to thyself. Be impregnated with the prophetic power, as the great final seer of the New Testament.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it , and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Ver. 9. Give me the little book ] Let preachers ply the throne of grace, if ever they will preach to purpose. Bene orasse, est bene studuisse, said Luther. Three things make a preacher, reading, prayer, and temptation. He that will understand God’s riddles must plough with this heifer, the Spirit, which is not given but to them that ask it.
And eat it up ] By reading and meditation; ministers must so devour and digest the Holy Scriptures, that as good scribes they may draw out new and old for the use of the Church upon all occasions. Jacobus de Voragine was so called, quod esset veluti vorago bibliorum, because he as it were devoured the Bible. (Alsted. Chron.) So Petrus Comestor for the same reason. Joannes Gatius, a Sicilian, was so well versed in the Scriptures, and so great a divine, that he once said, Si libri sacri perirent, se per Dei gratiam restiturum, That if the Bible were lost out of the world, he could restore it: Some think that Ezra did so after the Babylonish captivity, but I cannot think so. (Vide Pareum in Gen. Proleg.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 10:9-10 . The prophet absorbs the word of God; in our phrase, he makes it his own or identifies himself with it (Jer 15:16 ). To assimilate this revelation of the divine purpose seems to promise a delightful experience, but the bliss and security of the saints, he soon realises, involve severe trials ( cf. Rev 11:2 , Rev 12:13 f., etc.) for them as well as catastrophes for the world. Hence the feeling of disrelish with which he views his new vocation as a seer. The distasteful experience is put first, in Rev 10:9 , as being the unexpected element in the situation. (The omission of bitterness in LXX of Eze 3:14 renders it unlikely that this additional trait of unpleasant taste is due, as Spitta thinks, to an erroneous combination of Eze 3:2 ; Eze 3:14 ). The natural order occurs in Rev 10:10 . The only analogous passage in early Christian literature is in the “Martyrdom of Perpetua” (4. cf. Weinel, 196, 197). Wetstein cites from Theophrastus the description of an Indian shrub . . Before the happy consummation (Rev 10:7 ), a bitter prelude is to come, which is the subject of national and political prophecies. In order to underline his divine commission for this task of punitive prediction, he recalls his inspiration.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
unto. App-104.
and. Omit.
said = saying.
unto = to.
said = saith.
eat . . . up. Hebraism for receiving knowledge.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 10:9. ) Some few read , for the sake of an easy construction: by far the greatest number read : whence formerly the Latin translator rendered it, ut daret (to give), and thus also the Syriac Version. But the direct style agrees with the present address in preference to the indirect. As to what remains, the Infinitive is put for the Imperative. For this change of Mood is frequent with the Greeks, as we have shown on Chrysost. de Sacerd. p. 510, and the next page. Add Biblioth. Brem. Class, viii. p. 945, and following. The very word for is found in Theocritus. The Hebrew idiom also admits of this, on which see Dign. Speidelii Gramm. Hebr. p. 139. And the Septuagint on Gen 45:19, renders , – . Add Luk 9:3; Rom 12:15; Php 3:16. Such a figure makes the style characteristic of feeling,[104] and gives to it either a sense of majesty, especially where God is the speaker, or modesty, as here. For John from time to time, in this book, has expressed great reverence, and that almost to excess, towards the inhabitants of heaven: ch. Rev 7:14, Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8 : therefore, instead of ,[105] corresponds with that modesty, which he exhibited towards the angel in asking for the little book. After the example of John, we ought to unite humility of heart and searching of the prophets: and Lampe on Psalms 131, if you take it rightly, befittingly explains this union.
[104] See Appendix on Moratus Sermo.
[105] , ABC; ut daret, h Vulg. , Rec. Text, without good authority.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
angel (See Scofield “Heb 1:4”)
Take it Cf. Eze 2:8; Eze 2:9; Eze 3:1-3.
(See Scofield “Eze 3:3”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Take: Job 23:12, Jer 15:16, Eze 2:8, Eze 3:1-3, Eze 3:14, Col 3:6
Reciprocal: Gen 41:21 – eaten them up Num 5:18 – the bitter water Eze 3:3 – it was Dan 7:15 – was grieved
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 10:9. The command is obeyed, and the further instruction is given, Take it, and eat it up. For a similar action comp. Eze 3:1. The eating of the roll can hardly be anything else than a symbol of the complete assimilation of its contents.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John went to the angel and asked for it but was told again to take it. Coffman sees this as meaning God’s message cannot be given to a man but he must take it through his own study. ( 2Ti 2:15 ; Act 17:11 ) The word of God is sweet in the mouths of his people. ( Psa 119:103 ; Psa 19:9-10 ) Ezekiel had a vision very similar to this one. ( Eze 2:8-10 ; Eze 3:1-3 ) There is joy in receiving God’s message, but the reception is often followed by bitter persecution.
Eating would symbolize the assimilation of the message of the open little book. Of course, God’s message also contains bitter pronouncements of judgment upon the wicked which are bitter for a preacher to receive and have to deliver. John was one of the Lord’s apostles and had been preaching to many people since Pentecost. Now, he is told he will speak God’s word to many people, nations, languages and rulers. This he did in person after returning from Patmos and does, through the words he wrote, even today.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Verse 9
Eat it up. A similar image is presented in Ezekiel 3:1-3.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Evidently the little scroll symbolizes God’s revelation that John was about to set forth. It is the revelation that the remainder of the Book of Revelation, or at least part of it, contains. Eating is a universal figure for receiving knowledge (cf. Jer 15:16; Eze 3:1-3). The angel told John that this revelation would taste bitter at first but then he would find it sweet. This order probably suggests that what would come next was more judgment but John would find satisfaction in knowing these things.