Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. New Living Translation He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. English Standard Version And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, Berean Standard Bible He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. Berean Literal Bible And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. King James Bible And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, New King James Version He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; New American Standard Bible And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; NASB 1995 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; NASB 1977 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, Legacy Standard Bible And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; Amplified Bible And he overpowered and laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times], who is the devil and Satan, and bound him [securely] for a thousand years (a millennium); Christian Standard Bible He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. Holman Christian Standard Bible He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years. American Standard Version And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, Aramaic Bible in Plain English And he seized The Dragon and The Ancient Serpent, which is The Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; Contemporary English Version He chained the dragon for 1,000 years. It is that old snake, who is also known as the devil and Satan. Douay-Rheims Bible And he laid hold on the dragon the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. English Revised Version And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, GOD'S WORD® Translation He overpowered the serpent, that ancient snake, named Devil and Satan. The angel chained up the serpent for 1,000 years. Good News Translation He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent--that is, the Devil, or Satan--and chained him up for a thousand years. International Standard Version He captured the dragon, that ancient serpent, also known as the devil and Satan, and tied him up for a thousand years. Literal Standard Version and he laid hold on the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is [the] Devil and Satan, and bound him one thousand years, Majority Standard Bible He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole world, and bound him for a thousand years. New American Bible He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is the Devil or Satan, and tied it up for a thousand years NET Bible He seized the dragon--the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan--and tied him up for a thousand years. New Revised Standard Version He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, New Heart English Bible He seized the serpent, the ancient snake, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, Webster's Bible Translation And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Weymouth New Testament He laid hold of the Dragon--the ancient serpent--who is the Devil and the Adversary, and bound him for a thousand years, and hurled him into the bottomless pit. World English Bible He seized the dragon, the old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, Young's Literal Translation and he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, who is Devil and Adversary, and did bind him a thousand years, Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Satan Bound1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.… Cross References Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" Isaiah 24:22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days. Mark 4:15 Some are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling--these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day. Revelation 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. Revelation 12:4 His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth. Treasury of Scripture And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, he laid. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Isaiah 49:24,25 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? … the dragon. Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. Revelation 12:9,13,15,17 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him… Revelation 13:2,4 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority… Jump to Previous Adversary Ancient Bind Bottomless Bound Chains Deceives Devil Dragon Earth Evil Hold Hurled Inhabited Laid Pit Satan Seized Serpent Snake Thousand WholeJump to Next Adversary Ancient Bind Bottomless Bound Chains Deceives Devil Dragon Earth Evil Hold Hurled Inhabited Laid Pit Satan Seized Serpent Snake Thousand WholeRevelation 20 1. Satan bound for a thousand years.6. The first resurrection; 7. Satan let loose again. 8. Gog and Magog. 10. The demons cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. 11. The last and general resurrection. (2) And he laid hold on the dragon . . .--Or, And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. The four words are thus used to describe the archenemy; they are the same as those used for the same purpose in Revelation 12:9. Over the world he has exercised in every quarter his power as prince of this world, and he has been found fierce as the dragon, subtle as the serpent, the slanderer of God and His people, and the adversary of all righteousness. He is bound as Christ declared (Matthew 12:29; comp. Colossians 2:15). A thousand years was the length at which Rabbis fixed the duration of Messiah's kingdom. The period is not to be understood literally (see next verse).Verses 2, 3. - And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan. These titles are an exact repetition of Revelation 12:9 (which see). And bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit. The abyss, as we have seen (on ver. 1), is the present abode of Satan; the act of binding, therefore, is now over. This fact opposes the interpretation which makes "the thousand years" yet in the future. When, then, did this binding take place? Only one answer can be given. It was when Christ bruised the serpent's head by his act of redemption. Thus, "Christ was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8); "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out." (John 12:31); "The prince of this world hath been judged" (John 16:11). Satan is the strong man bound (Matthew 12:26, 29). Next, what is meant by "for a thousand years"? The best interpretation seems to be that this phrase expresses a quality, and does not express a period of time. That such a method of employing numbers is usual in the Apocalypse we have frequently seen (see on Revelation 1:4, "seven;" Revelation 13:1, "ten," etc.). Here, therefore, as in Revelation 7:4, "one thousand" signifies "completeness." Satan is bound "for a thousand years;" that is, Satan is completely bound. In Ezekiel (from which the following part of the vision is certainly derived) a similar use is made of the terms "seven years" (Ezekiel 39:9) and "seven months" (Ezekiel 39:12). But, again, in what sense can Satan be said to have been "completely" bound by our Lord's work of redemption? The answer is - In relation to the godly. The purpose of this sentence is that which is one great purpose of the whole book, viz. to encourage the struggling Christian. Thus this sentence assures Christians that, for them, Satan has been completely bound, and they need not despair nor fear his might (cf. "loosed," infra). The chapter thus describes, not a millennium of the saints, but the overthrow of Satan. Before the picture of the war and the overthrow, the saints are invited to behold the complete security of those who have not worshipped the beast nor his image; just as the vision of Christ victorious introduced the seal visions. And shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, etc. It is possible that there is here a reference to the death and burial of Christ (Matthew 27:66). Satan "met in reality that fate which he was able, in a shadowy and temporary form, to inflict on Jesus - he was bound and shut up in the abyss, and the abyss was sealed over him" (Milligan. Cf. also the word "abyss," supra). Satan was thus bound "that he might deceive the nations no more," etc.; that is, Satan, in his character of the deceiver (cf. Revelation 12:9) of the world, is thus limited in his power by the binding which has been described. The nations; in the sense of the world, not the ungodly world. And after that he must be loosed a little season. Omit "and." "A little time" (μικρὸν χροόνον) is the exact phrase used in Revelation 6:11, where it certainly means the period of this world's existence. Such also is its meaning here. "He must be loosed" signifies that Satan is, in regard to the ungodly, allowed to work his will during this period. The thousand years' binding, and the loosing for a little time, describe two events which occur contemporaneously. While the godly need have no fear, because even in this world Satan's power as regards them is completely limited by Christ's act of redemption, yet in another sense, as regards the ungodly, Satan is loosed and obtains power over them. The chief difficulty in this interpretation lies in the words, "after this." But it must be remembered that the "thousand years" do not express a period of time, but the quality of completeness. Therefore the loosing of Satan must not be supposed to take place in a period subsequent to the period of the binding. The seer wishes to describe the devil in a twofold character, subordinating the second to the first. He thus says, "By Christ's redeeming work Satan is bound and fettered in regard to you faithful Christians; but there is also a second subordinate fact to remember, that at the same time he is powerful in his natural sphere, among his own adherents." The binding of Satan in one direction being immediately followed by a display of power in another, and the former fact being expressed by the chronological symbolism of being bound for a thousand years, it is part of this chronological symbolism to express the second fact as taking place after the first, though a subordination of the secondary to the primary effect is really what is intended to be conveyed (see Milligan, quoted above). Parallel Commentaries ... Greek He seizedἐκράτησεν (ekratēsen) Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Strong's 2902: From kratos; to use strength, i.e. Seize or retain. the τὸν (ton) Article - Accusative Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. dragon, δράκοντα (drakonta) Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Strong's 1404: A dragon or huge serpent; met: Satan. Probably from an alternate form of derkomai; a fabulous kind of serpent. the ὁ (ho) Article - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. ancient ἀρχαῖος (archaios) Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 744: Original, primitive, ancient. From arche; original or primeval. serpent ὄφις (ophis) Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 3789: Probably from optanomai; a snake, figuratively, an artful malicious person, especially Satan. who ὅς (hos) Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that. is ἐστιν (estin) Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist. [the] devil Διάβολος (Diabolos) Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 1228: From diaballo; a traducer; specially, Satan. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. Satan, Σατανᾶς (Satanas) Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 4567: An adversary, Satan. Of Chaldee origin corresponding to ma'bad; the accuser, i.e. The devil. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. bound ἔδησεν (edēsen) Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Strong's 1210: To bind, tie, fasten; I impel, compel; I declare to be prohibited and unlawful. A primary verb; to bind. him αὐτὸν (auton) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons. for a thousand χίλια (chilia) Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural Strong's 5507: A thousand. Plural of uncertain affinity; a thousand. years. ἔτη (etē) Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural Strong's 2094: A year. Apparently a primary word; a year. 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