Bible Strands
Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — One of the twenty-four elders speaks to John, who has been weeping bitterly over the absence of anyone worthy to open the scroll (5:4). The elder's command halts that weeping.
The words — μὴ (mē), "not," is a strong prohibitive; it is the word that stops the weeping before the title is even given.
The thread — The "Root of David" title echoes Isaiah 11:1 (shoot from the stump of Jesse) and Jeremiah 23:5 (righteous Branch raised up for David), and is restated in Revelation 22:16 where Jesus identifies himself as "the Root and the Offspring of David."
Why it lands — The verse names the Lion's triumph, but the very next verse (5:6) reveals that Lion as a slain Lamb; the reader is asked to hold both images without resolving the tension.
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 one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
- Romans 15:12 And once more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”
- Isaiah 11:10 On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
- Romans 1:3 regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,
- Hebrews 7:14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.
- Genesis 49:9 Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
- Revelation 4:4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads.
- Revelation 6:1 Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”