And the four and twenty ancients and the four living creatures fell down and adored God that sitteth upon the throne, saying: Amen. Alleluia.
και επεσον επεσαν οι πρεσβυτεροι οι εικοσι τεσσαρες κδ και τα τεσσαρα ζωα και προσεκυνησαν τω θεω τω καθημενω επι του θρονου τω θρονω λεγοντες αμην αλληλουια
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
That the elders and the living creatures say "amen" signifies their agreement with the doxology offered by the holy angels. From Hebrew into Greek, amen is translated as "let it be so." A voice from the throne says: "Praise our God, small and great." By the small John means those who have advanced further in holy activity, and by the great, the saints in the highest sense.
The Church praises God not with lips only, but with the whole sweetness of reverence.
He says, "Amen! Alleluia!" These words can be translated, since, as I have already said, they concern faith, truth, and praise of the Lord.
Yet out of reverence for the holiness of the language from which they come, they are still used with authority without translation.
Thus the Church continues to sing Alleluia every Sunday and in the period of Quinquagesima, the fiftieth day in the Latin tradition, for the hope of the Resurrection, which in the Lord is the praise to come.
It is said, "small and great," for smallness in natural abilities means nothing if the heart and mouth are full of the praise of the Lord.
The word alleluia means "praise to God" and is used in His glorification. The word amen, which means "truly so," confirms what has been said. Alleluia is offered up to God three times, because God has three Persons, equal to one another in the divine nature: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 23 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS