Revelation 10:9

And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — John approaches the angel holding the open small scroll and requests it. The angel responds to John’s request with a command to take and consume the scroll.

The words — ἀπῆλθα (apēltha) denotes the active movement of the prophet toward the divine messenger. δοῦναί (dounai) is the infinitive form of the command to hand over the physical object.

The thread — The text says the prophet is commanded to eat a scroll in Ezekiel 2:8 and Ezekiel 3:1 before speaking to Israel. Jeremiah 15:16 similarly records the prophet finding and eating God’s words as a source of joy.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate obedience to a command that requires internalizing a message. The contrasting tastes of honey and bitterness require the reader to accept both the welcome and the harsh reality of the prophetic word.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 3:1 “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
Ezekiel 2:8 And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
Job 23:12 I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
Ezekiel 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
Colossians 3:6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.