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Revelation 9:3-10 King James Version (KJV)

3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.


Revelation 9:3-10 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

3 And G2532 there came G1831 out of G1537 the smoke G2586 locusts G200 upon G1519 the earth: G1093 and G2532 unto them G846 was given G1325 power, G1849 as G5613 the scorpions G4651 of the earth G1093 have G2192 power. G1849

4 And G2532 it was commanded G4483 them G846 that G3363 they should G91 not G3363 hurt G91 the grass G5528 of the earth, G1093 neither G3761 any G3956 green thing, G5515 neither G3761 any G3956 tree; G1186 but G1508 only G3441 those men G444 which G3748 have G2192 not G3756 the seal G4973 of God G2316 in G1909 their G846 foreheads. G3359

5 And G2532 to them G846 it was given G1325 that G3363 they should G615 not G3363 kill G615 them, G846 but G235 that G2443 they should be tormented G928 five G4002 months: G3376 and G2532 their G846 torment G929 was as G5613 the torment G929 of a scorpion, G4651 when G3752 he striketh G3817 a man. G444

6 And G2532 in G1722 those G1565 days G2250 shall men G444 seek G2212 death, G2288 and G2532 shall G2147 not G3756 find G2147 it; G846 and G2532 shall desire G1937 to die, G599 and G2532 death G2288 shall flee G5343 from G575 them. G846

7 And G2532 the shapes G3667 of the locusts G200 were like G3664 unto horses G2462 prepared G2090 unto G1519 battle; G4171 and G2532 on G1909 their G846 heads G2776 were as it were G5613 crowns G4735 like G3664 gold, G5557 and G2532 their G846 faces G4383 were as G5613 the faces G4383 of men. G444

8 And G2532 they had G2192 hair G2359 as G5613 the hair G2359 of women, G1135 and G2532 their G846 teeth G3599 were G2258 as G5613 the teeth of lions. G3023

9 And G2532 they had G2192 breastplates, G2382 as it were G5613 breastplates G2382 of iron; G4603 and G2532 the sound G5456 of their G846 wings G4420 was as G5613 the sound G5456 of chariots G716 of many G4183 horses G2462 running G5143 to G1519 battle. G4171

10 And G2532 they had G2192 tails G3769 like G3664 unto scorpions, G4651 and G2532 there were G2258 stings G2759 in G1722 their G846 tails: G3769 and G2532 their G846 power G1849 was to hurt G91 men G444 five G4002 months. G3376


Revelation 9:3-10 American Standard (ASV)

3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads.

5 And it was given them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man.

6 And in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from them.

7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men's faces.

8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as `teeth' of lions.

9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war.

10 And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months.


Revelation 9:3-10 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts to the earth, and there was given to them authority, as scorpions of the earth have authority,

4 and it was said to them that they may not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but -- the men only who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads,

5 and it was given to them that they may not kill them, but that they may be tormented five months, and their torment `is' as the torment of a scorpion, when it may strike a man;

6 and in those days shall men seek the death, and they shall not find it, and they shall desire to die, and the death shall flee from them.

7 And the likenesses of the locusts `are' like to horses made ready to battle, and upon their heads as crowns like gold, and their faces as faces of men,

8 and they had hair as hair of women, and their teeth were as `those' of lions,

9 and they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings `is' as the noise of chariots of many horses running to battle;

10 and they have tails like to scorpions, and stings were in their tails; and their authority `is' to injure men five months;


Revelation 9:3-10 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have power;

4 and it was said to them, that they should not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but the men who have not the seal of God on their foreheads:

5 and it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment [was] as [the] torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall in no way find it; and shall desire to die, and death flees from them.

7 And the likenesses of the locusts [were] like to horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as crowns like gold, and their faces as faces of men;

8 and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,

9 and they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings [was] as the sound of chariots of many horses running to war;

10 and they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and their power [was] in their tails to hurt men five months.


Revelation 9:3-10 World English Bible (WEB)

3 Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

4 They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who don't have God's seal on their foreheads.

5 They were given power not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion, when it strikes a person.

6 In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

7 The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people's faces.

8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like those of lions.

9 They had breastplates, like breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, or of many horses rushing to war.

10 They have tails like those of scorpions, and stings. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months.


Revelation 9:3-10 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

3 And from the smoke locusts came out on the earth; and power was given them, like the power of scorpions.

4 And they were ordered to do no damage to the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only to such men as have not the mark of God on their brows.

5 And orders were given them not to put them to death, but to give them great pain for five months: and their pain was as the pain from the wound of a scorpion.

6 And in those days men will be hoping for death, and it will not come to them; and they will have a great desire for death, and death will go in flight from them.

7 And the forms of the locusts were like horses made ready for war; and on their heads they had crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

8 And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

9 And they had breastplates like iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of carriages, like an army of horses rushing to the fight.

10 And they have pointed tails like scorpions; and in their tails is their power to give men wounds for five months.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 9

Commentary on Revelation 9 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 9

In this chapter we have an account of the sounding of the fifth and sixth trumpets, the appearances that attended them, and the events that were to follow; the fifth trumpet (v. 1-12), the sixth (v. 13-21).

Rev 9:1-12

Upon the sounding of this trumpet, the things to be observed are,

  • 1. A star falling from heaven to the earth. Some think this star represents some eminent bishop in the Christian church, some angel of the church; for, in the same way of speaking by which pastors are called stars, the church is called heaven; but who this is expositors do not agree. Some understand it of Boniface the third bishop of Rome, who assumed the title of universal bishop, by the favour of the emperor Phocas, who, being a usurper and tyrant in the state, allowed Boniface to be so in the church, as the reward of his flattery.
  • 2. To this fallen star was given the key of the bottomless pit. Having now ceased to be a minister of Christ, he becomes the antichrist, the minister of the devil; and by the permission of Christ, who had taken from him the keys of the church, he becomes the devil's turnkey, to let loose the powers of hell against the churches of Christ.
  • 3. Upon the opening of the bottomless pit there arose a great smoke, which darkened the sun and the air. The devils are the powers of darkness; hell is the place of darkness. The devil carries on his designs by blinding the eyes of men, by extinguishing light and knowledge, and promoting ignorance and error. He first deceives men, and then destroys them; wretched souls follow him in the dark, or they durst not follow him.
  • 4. Out of this dark smoke there came a swarm of locusts, one of the plagues of Egypt, the devil's emissaries headed by the antichrist, all the rout and rabble of antichristian orders, to promote superstition, idolatry, error, and cruelty; and these had, by the just permission of God, power to hurt those who had not the mark of God in their foreheads.
  • 5. The hurt they were to do them was not a bodily, but a spiritual hurt. They should not in a military way destroy all by fire and sword; the trees and the grass should be untouched, and those they hurt should not be slain; it should not be a persecution, but a secret poison and infection in their souls, which should rob them of their purity, and afterwards of their peace. Heresy is a poison in the soul, working slowly and secretly, but will be bitterness in the end.
  • 6. They had no power so much as to hurt those who had the seal of God in their foreheads. God's electing, effectual, distinguishing grace will preserve his people from total and final apostasy.
  • 7. The power given to these factors for hell is limited in point of time: five months, a certain season, and but a short season, though how short we cannot tell. Gospel-seasons have their limits, and times of seduction are limited too.
  • 8. Though it would be short, it would be very sharp, insomuch that those who were made to feel the malignity of this poison in their consciences would be weary of their lives, v. 6. A wounded spirit who can bear?
  • 9. These locusts were of a monstrous size and shape, v. 7, 8, etc. They were equipped for their work like horses prepared to battle.
    • (1.) They pretended to great authority, and seemed to be assured of victory: They had crowns like gold on their heads; it was not a true, but a counterfeit authority.
    • (2.) They had the show of wisdom and sagacity, the faces of men, though the spirit of devils.
    • (3.) They had all the allurements of seeming beauty, to ensnare and defile the minds of men-hair like women; their way of worship was very gaudy and ornamental.
    • (4.) Though they appeared with the tenderness of women, they had the teeth of lions, were really cruel creatures.
    • (5.) They had the defence and protection of earthly powers-breastplates of iron.
    • (6.) They made a mighty noise in the world; they flew about from one country to another, and the noise of their motion was like that of an army with chariots and horses.
    • (7.) Though at first they soothed and flattered men with a fair appearance, there was a sting in their tails; the cup of their abominations contained that which, though luscious at first, would at length bite like a serpent and sting like an adder.
    • (8.) The king and commander of this hellish squadron is here described,
      • [1.] As an angel; so he was by nature, an angel, once one of the angels of heaven.
      • [2.] The angel of the bottomless pit; an angel still, but a fallen angel, fallen into the bottomless pit, vastly large, and out of which there is no recovery.
      • [3.] In these infernal regions he is a sort of prince and governor, and has the powers of darkness under his rule and command.
      • [4.] His true name is Abaddon, Apollyon-a destroyer, for that is his business, his design, and employment, to which he diligently attends, in which he is very successful, and takes a horrid hellish pleasure; it is about this destroying work that he sends out his emissaries and armies to destroy the souls of men. And now here we have the end of one woe; and where one ends another begins.

Rev 9:13-21

Here let us consider the preface to this vision, and then the vision itself.

  • I. The preface to this vision: A voice was heard from the horns of the golden altar, v. 13, 14. Here observe,
    • 1. The power of the church's enemies is restrained till God gives the word to have them turned loose.
    • 2. When nations are ripe for punishment, those instruments of God's anger that were before restrained are let loose upon them, v. 14.
    • 3. The instruments that God makes use of to punish a people may sometimes lie at a great distance from them, so that no danger may be apprehended from them. These four messengers of divine judgment lay bound in the river Euphrates, a great way from the European nations. Here the Turkish power had its rise, which seems to be the story of this vision.
  • II. The vision itself: And the four angels that had been bound in the great river Euphrates were now loosed, v. 15, 16. And here observe,
    • 1. The time of their military operations and executions is limited to an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year. Prophetic characters of time are hardly to be understood by us; but in general the time is fixed to an hour, when it shall begin and when it shall end; and how far the execution shall prevail, even to a third part of the inhabitants of the earth. God will make the wrath of man praise him, and the remainder of wrath he will restrain.
    • 2. The army that was to execute this great commission is mustered, and the number found to be of horsemen two hundred thousand thousand; but we are left to guess what the infantry must be. In general, it tells us, the armies of the Mahomedan empire should be vastly great; and so it is certain they were.
    • 3. Their formidable equipage and appearance, v. 17. As the horses were fierce, like lions, and eager to rush into the battle, so those who sat upon them were clad in bright and costly armour, with all the ensigns of martial courage, zeal, and resolution.
    • 4. The vast havoc and desolation that they made in the Roman empire, which had now become antichristian: A third part of them were killed; they went as far as their commission suffered them, and they could go no further.
    • 5. Their artillery, by which they made such slaughter, described by fire, smoke, and brimstone, issuing out of the mouths of their horses, and the stings that were in their tails. It is Mr. Mede's opinion that this is a prediction of great guns, those instruments of cruelty which make such destruction: he observes, These were first used by the Turks at the siege of Constantinople, and, being new and strange, were very terrible, and did great execution. However, here seems to be an allusion to what is mentioned in the former vision, that, as antichrist had his forces of a spiritual nature, like scorpions poisoning the minds of men with error and idolatry, so the Turks, who were raised up to punish the antichristian apostasy, had their scorpions and their stings too, to hurt and kill the bodies of those who had been the murderers of so many souls.
    • 6. Observe the impenitency of the antichristian generation under these dreadful judgments (v. 20); the rest of the men who were not killed repented not, they still persisted in those sins for which God was so severely punishing them, which were,
      • (1.) Their idolatry; they would not cast away their images, though they could do them no good, could not see, nor hear, nor walk.
      • (2.) Their murders (v. 21), which they had committed upon the saints and servants of Christ. Popery is a bloody religion, and seems resolved to continue such.
      • (3.) Their sorceries; they have their charms, and magic arts, and rites in exorcism and other things.
      • (4.) Their fornication; they allow both spiritual and carnal impurity, and promote it in themselves and others.
      • (5.) Their thefts; they have by unjust means heaped together a vast deal of wealth, to the injury and impoverishing of families, cities, princes, and nations. These are the flagrant crimes of antichrist and his agents; and, though God has revealed his wrath from heaven against them, they are obstinate, hardened, and impenitent, and judicially so, for they must be destroyed.
  • III. From this sixth trumpet we learn,
    • 1. God can make one enemy of the church to be a scourge and plague to another.
    • 2. He who is the Lord of hosts has vast armies at his command, to serve his own purposes.
    • 3. The most formidable powers have limits set them, which they cannot transgress.
    • 4. When God's judgments are in the earth, he expects the inhabitants thereof should repent of sin, and learn righteousness.
    • 5. Impenitency under divine judgments is an iniquity that will be the ruin of sinners; for where God judges he will overcome.