Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

Adam Clarke Commentary

They shall hunger no more - They shall no longer be deprived of their religious ordinances, and the blessings attendant on them, as they were when in a state of persecution.

Neither shall the sun light on them - Their secular rulers, being converted to God, became nursing fathers to the Church.

Nor any heat - Neither persecution nor affliction of any kind. These the Hebrews express by the term heat, scorching, etc.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

They shall hunger no more - A considerable portion of the redeemed who will be there, were, when on earth, subjected to the evils of famine; many who perished with hunger. In heaven they will be subjected to that evil no more, for there will be no want that will not be supplied. The bodies which the redeemed will have - spiritual bodies 1 Corinthians 15:44 - will doubtless be such as will be nourished in some other way than by food, if they require any nourishment; and whatever that nourishment may be, it will be fully supplied. The passage here is taken from Isaiah 49:10; “They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them.” See the notes on that passage.

Neither thirst any more - As multitudes of the redeemed have been subjected to the evils of hunger, so have multitudes also been subjected to the pains of thirst. In prison; in pathless deserts; in times of drought, when wells and fountains were dried up, they have suffered from this cause - a cause producing as intense suffering perhaps as any that man endures. Compare Exodus 17:3; Psalm 63:1; Lamentations 4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:27. It is easy to conceive of persons suffering so intensely from thirst that the highest vision of felicity would be such a promise as that in the words before us - “neither thirst anymore.”

Neither shall the sun light on them - It is hardly necessary, perhaps, to say that the word “light” here does not mean to enlighten, to give light to, to shine on. The Greek is πέσῃ pesē- “fall on” - and the reference, probably is to the intense and burningheat of the sun, commonly called a sunstroke. Excessive heat of the sun, causing great pain or sudden death, is not a very uncommon thing among us, and must have been more common in the warm climates and burning sands of the countries in the vicinity of Palestine. The meaning here is, that in heaven they would be free from this calamity.

Nor any heat - In Isaiah 49:10, from which place this is quoted, the expression is שׁרב shaaraabproperly denoting heat or burning, and particularly the mirage, the excessive heat of a sandy desert producing a vapor which has a striking resemblance to water, and which often misleads the unwary traveler by its deceptive appearance. See the notes on Isaiah 35:7. The expression here is equivalent to intense heat; and the meaning is, that in heaven the redeemed will not be subjected to any such suffering as the traveler often experiences in the burning sands of the desert. The language would convey a most grateful idea to those who had been subjected to these sufferings, and is one form of saying that, in heaven, the redeemed will be delivered from the ills which they suffer in this life. Perhaps the whole image here is that of travelers who have been on a long journey, exposed to hunger and thirst, wandering in the burning sands of the desert, and exposed to the fiery rays of the sun, at length reaching their quiet and peaceful home, where they would find safety and abundance. The believer‘s journey from earth to heaven is such a pilgrimage.

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat:

The background of this verse is the hunger and privation suffered by the apostolic church. The savage hatred of the whole pagan world motivated ten great persecutions against the Christians. Not only were the Christians often cold, and tired, and hungry, and naked, they were also murdered for sport in the Roman Coliseum, and some of them were drenched in flammables and elevated as torches to illuminate the night time games and orgies of the emperor's gardens in Rome. Saints suffering such indignities and terrors needed such comforting words as those provided in this verse.

Neither shall the sun strike on them, nor any heat ... This continues in the same line of thought. During the persecutions, the church often found that its members did not have even the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter; and from this we should learn that, "The church should never expect to be preserved from the basic ills of mankind."[60]

ENDNOTE:

[60] Michael Wilcock, op. cit., p. 84.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more,.... The words are taken out of Isaiah 49:10, and will be true in a literal and corporeal sense. Now the saints are often in hunger and thirst, then they shall be so no more; and in a mystical and spiritual sense, there will be no famine of the word; for though there will not be the outward ministration of the word, as now, the substance of it will be enjoyed, to full satisfaction; nor will there be any uneasy desires after spiritual things, and much less any hungerings and thirstings, or lusting after carnal, sensual, and earthly things.

Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; not the sun of persecution, see Matthew 13:6; nor the heat of Satan's temptations, or his fiery darts; nor of any fiery trial, or sore affliction; nor of the divine displeasure, or any fearful sense and apprehension of it; nor of toil and labour, called the burden and heat of the day, from all which they will be now free.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

(Isaiah 49:10).

hunger no more — as they did here.

thirst any more — (John 4:13).

the sun — literally, scorching in the East. Also, symbolically, the sun of persecution.

neither  …  light — Greek, “by no means at all  …  light” (fall).

heat — as the sirocco.

Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament

They shall hunger no more (ου πεινασουσιν ετι — ou peinasousin eti). Future tense of πειναω — peinaō old verb with late form instead of πεινησουσιν — peinēsousin like Luke 6:25. It is a free translation of Isaiah 49:10 (not quotation from the lxx).

Neither thirst any more (ουδε διπσησουσιν ετι — oude dipsēsousin eti). Future tense of διπσαω — dipsaō the two strong human appetites will be gone, a clear refutation of a gross materialistic or sensual conception of the future life. Cf. John 6:35.

Neither shall strike (ουδε μη πεσηι — oude mē pesēi). Strong double negative ουδε μη — oude mē with second aorist active subjunctive of πιπτω — piptō to fall. They will no longer be under the rays of the sun as upon earth.

Nor any heat (ουδε παν καυμα — oude pān kauma). Old word from καιω — kaiō to burn, painful and burning heat, in N.T. only here and Revelation 16:9 (picture of the opposite condition). The use of the negative with παν — pān (all) for “not any” is common in N.T. Cf. Psalm 121:6.

Vincent's Word Studies

They shall hunger no more, etc.

Compare Isaiah 49:10.

Heat ( καῦμα )

In Isaiah 49:10, the word καύσων thescorching wind or sirocco is used. See on Matthew 20:12; see on James 1:11.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

Neither shall the sun light on them — For God is there their sun. Nor any painful heat, or inclemency of seasons.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

Ver. 16. They shall hunger no more] They shall be as it were in heaven beforehand, having Malorum ademptionem, bonorum adeptionem, freedom from evil, and fruition of good, here in part, hereafter in all fulness.

Sermon Bible Commentary

Revelation 7:16

"No More" and "More.".

There are four things asserted here:—

I. All need is supplied: "They shall hunger no more, for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them." (1) Look at the source of the supply. This is sixfold: (a) love which passeth knowledge; (b) power to which nothing is hard; (c) wisdom Divine and infinite; (d) providence minute and universal; (e) oneness of feeling without check; (f) closeness of relationship. (2) Mark the character of the supply. This is in harmony with the source. The source is love, and the supply is generous. It is well sustained, suitable, varied, acceptable, and grateful to the recipient.

II. All desire gratified. There are four qualities clothing this gratification of desire. (1) It is pure, unselfish; (2) it is full, nothing left to be given; (3) it is wholesome and invigorating; (4) it is Divine, of a godly sort.

III. All trouble prevented. It is impossible for trouble to befall us when God places Himself between us and grief.

IV. All sadness taken away and kept away. Then—(1) weep not for the dead who have died in the Lord; (2) shrink not from a rapid approach to immortality; (3) make not heaven your god, or going to heaven your goal and your end, but remember, nevertheless, that God has heaven prepared for you; (4) praise your Saviour, to whom you owe heaven and every good.

S. Martin, Comfort in Trouble, p. 224.

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References: Revelation 7:16, Revelation 7:17.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1800. Revelation 7:17.—Ibid., vol. xi., No. 643; Talmage, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii., p. 233.

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible

Revelation 7:16. Nor any heat.— That is, nor any burning, or scorching heat,—inconvenient heat.

Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Here St. John proceeds in giving a farther description of the place and state of the blessed; he acquaints us both with the private evils they shall be everlastingly delivered from, as also with the positive good they shall eternally rest in.

As to the former he assures us that glorified souls shall be acquainted with no wants, and exposed to no afflicted providences. They shall neither hunger nor thirst; that is, they shall by in a condition free from all, and all manner of wants whatsoever. Neither shall the sun, nor the heat, light upon them; that is, the scorching heat of persecution, to which they were exposed here, shall never more affect or afflict them there. And, God will wipe away all tears from their eyes, that is, all cause of sorrow and mourning shall everlastingly cease.

Farther, He acquaints us with the positive good which the glorified saints do eternally rest in; the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall feed them, that is, Christ shall satisify them with a satiety of joy, and fulness of pleasure: and lead them to the living fountains of water; that is, to the never-failing comforts of God's presence.

O happy place and state! which will at once cause the saints to forget all former sorrows for time past, and happily prevent any farther cause of affliction and sorrow for time to come; where no sin shall afflict them, no sorrow affect them, no danger affright them, where all tears shall be wiped from their eyes, all sorrows banished from their hearts, and everlasting joys shall possess their souls; where they shall obey their God with vigour, praise him with cheerfulness, love him above measure, fear him without torment, trust him without despondency, serve him without lassitude and weariness, without interruption or distraction, being perfectly like unto God, as well in holiness as in happiness, as well in purity as in immortality.

Lord, strengthen our faith, in the belief of this desirable happiness, and set our souls a-longing for the full fruition and final enjoyment of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

This is taken out of Isaiah 49:10. They are all metaphorical expressions, all signifying the perfect state of glorified saints; they shall have no wants, nor be exposed to any afflictive providences.

Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament

Hunger no more; endure no more evils of any kind.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

neither, neither, nor. Greek. oude, the second occurance followed by me.

light. Greek. pipto. Occ twenty-three times in Rev., always "fall" except here. See Revelation 16:8. Compare Isaiah 30:26.

heat = scorching heat. Greek. kauma. Only here and Revelation 16:9.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

(Isaiah 49:10.)

Hunger no more - as here.

Thirst anymore - (John 4:13.)

The sun - scorching in the East; symbolically, the sun of persecution (Matthew 13:6; Matthew 13:21).

Light - `by no means at all ... light' (fall), etc.

Heat - as the sirocco.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) They shall hunger no more . . .—Better, They shall not hunger any more, nor yet thirst any more; neither at all shall the sun light upon them, nor any heat. The negatives are emphatic, and rise in force as the verse proceeds. None of the privations which they have endured for Christ’s sake shall trouble them; none of the dissatisfactions and weariness of life shall afflict them; for hunger, thirst, and fatigue will be no more, for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:3-4). And then, too, shall that blessed hunger and thirst —the hunger and thirst for righteousness—be appeased. Christ’s benediction will then be realised in its fulness: Blessed are they who so hunger, for they shall be filled. And as they will receive inward strength and satisfaction, so also will they be kept from the outward trials which wear down the strength of the strongest. The sun shall not light on them: The Eastern sun, in its fierce and overpowering intensity, was a fit emblem of those trials which dry up the springs of strength. The sun, risen with a burning heat, devoured the beauty of the flower (James 1:11); the rootless growth on the stony ground was scorched when the sun was up (Matthew 13:5-6). Man’s beauty of wealth and talent, man’s resolutions of better things, all fade away before the testing beams of this sun; but the time of trial is past, the pains and temptations of life are over, the sun in that land will not scorch, for there is no longer need of these burning beams; the city has no need of the sun, for the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation 21:23). No sun, and no heat, no burning hot wind like the sirocco, will spread withering influence there.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

hunger

Psalms 42:2; 63:1; 143:6; Isaiah 41:17; 49:10; 65:13; Matthew 5:6; Luke 1:53; 6:21; John 4:14

the sun

21:4; Psalms 121:6; Song of Solomon 1:6; Isaiah 4:5,6; 25:4; 32:2; Jonah 4:8; Matthew 13:6,21; Mark 4:6,17; James 1:11

Reciprocal: Joshua 5:12 - the manna;  Psalm 17:15 - I shall;  Psalm 65:4 - we shall be;  Psalm 107:9 - General;  Ecclesiastes 1:8 - the eye;  Jeremiah 31:14 - my people;  Ezekiel 34:14 - feed them;  Ezekiel 34:29 - consumed;  Nahum 1:12 - I will;  Zechariah 14:8 - in summer;  Mark 8:8 - and were;  Luke 16:24 - in water;  John 2:10 - but;  John 6:35 - never hunger;  2 Thessalonians 2:16 - everlasting;  Revelation 16:8 - and power

Walter Scott's Commentary on Revelation

No Commentary on vs. 16

E.M. Zerr's Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

Shall not hunger nor thirst because those are wants that pertain to this life, and they have become citizens of a region where physical wants are unknown. The light and heat of the sun are things of the past for the same reasons.

Hanserd Knollys' Commentary on Revelation

Revelation 7:16

Revelation 7:16-17 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

By hunger, thirst, and heat, we may understand all hurtful things.

They shall hunger no more: for the Lamb

that Isaiah, Christ shall feed them, John 6:35; John 6:57

neither thirst any more

for Christ

shall lead them unto living fountains of waters

John 7:37-39

Neither shall the Sun light on them, nor any heat

That Isaiah, no sort of persecution or affliction. Song of Solomon 1:6-7; Isaiah 4:4-6

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes

And there shall be no more death, neither mourning, nor crying nor any pain, { Revelation 21:1-5} but joy and pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

16.They—We may render literally, They will hunger never more, nor thirst ever; no, nor ever will fall upon them the sun or heat-blast.

 

The Expositor's Greek Testament

Revelation 7:16_{. with both fut. indicative and subjunctive (=} Revelation 2:11_{), in emphatic assertions. For the absence of scorching as a trait of the Hellenic Utopia, cf. Dieterich, 31–33. If corresponds here to the sense of the Isaianic equivalent , the reference is to the scorching sirocco. So the Egyptian dead yearned for a cooling breeze in the next world—“Let me be placed by the edge of the water with my face to the north, that the breeze may caress me, and my heart be refreshed from its sorrows” (see Maspero, Dawn of Civil, p. 113).}

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