Revelation 11:3

And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God speaks directly to John, in the middle of a vision sequence that begins with measuring the temple (11:1–2). The two witnesses are introduced as a divine appointment, not a human initiative.

The words — δῶσω (dōsō, "I will grant") is first-person singular future: God is the sole agent of their empowerment. μάρτυσιν (martysin, "witnesses") is the same root as "martyr," carrying the implication that testimony here is bound to death.

The thread — The 1,260-day period matches the woman's wilderness sojourn (Revelation 12:6) and the 42 months of Gentile trampling in the preceding verse (11:2). The requirement of two witnesses to establish a matter is grounded in Deuteronomy 19:15, and their identity as olive trees and lampstands draws on Zechariah 4:14.

Why it lands — The verse fixes a finite window for a specific prophetic task under divine authorization, asking the reader to hold both the sovereignty of the sender and the vulnerability of the sent without collapsing one into the other.

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

ΚαὶKaiAnd δώσωdōsōI will grant τοῖςtoisto the δυσὶνdusintwo μάρτυσίνmartusinwitnesses μου,mouof mine,καὶkaiand προφητεύσουσινprophēteusousinthey will prophesy ἡμέραςhēmerasdays χιλίαςchiliasa thousand διακοσίαςdiakosiastwo hundred ἑξήκονταhexēkontasixty περιβεβλημένοιperibeblēmenoihaving clothed themselves in σάκκους.sakkoussackcloth.

King James Version

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Cross-references

Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.
Revelation 11:2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
Deuteronomy 19:15 A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Revelation 13:5 The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 13:31 and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.
Numbers 11:26 Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.