Revelation 9:5

9:5 The locusts ¹  were not given permission ²  to kill ³  them, but only to torture ⁴  them ⁵  for five months, and their torture was like that ⁶  of a scorpion when it stings a person. ⁷ 

Revelation 9:10-11

9:10 They have ⁸  tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability ⁹  to injure people for five months is in their tails. 9:11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. ¹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 8:15

8:15 and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents ¹¹  and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow ¹²  from a flint rock and

Deuteronomy 8:1

The Lord’s Provision in the Desert

8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments ¹³  I am giving ¹⁴  you today so that you may live, increase in number, ¹⁵  and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 12:11

12:11 Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing ¹⁷  everything I am commanding you – your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, ¹⁸  and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him. ¹⁹ 

Ezekiel 2:6

2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ²⁰  and thorns ²¹  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ²²  for they are a rebellious house!

Luke 10:19

10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread ²³  on snakes and scorpions ²⁴  and on the full force of the enemy, ²⁵  and nothing will ²⁶  hurt you.

¹ tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

³ tn The two ἵνα (Jina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edoqh).

⁴ tn On this term BDAG 168 s.v. βασανισμός states, “1. infliction of severe suffering or pain associated with torture or torment, tormenting, torture Rv 9:5b. – 2. the severe pain experienced through torture, torment vs. 5a; 14:11; 18:10, 15; (w. πένθος) vs. 7.”

⁵ tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.

⁶ tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.

⁷ tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.

⁸ tn In the Greek text there is a shift to the present tense here; the previous verbs translated “had” are imperfects.

⁹ tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”

¹⁰ sn Both the Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek Apollyon mean “Destroyer.”

¹¹ tn Heb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).

¹² tn Heb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.

¹³ tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).

¹⁴ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).

¹⁵ tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).

¹⁷ tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

²⁰ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

²¹ tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

²² tn Heb “of their faces.”

²³ tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.

²⁴ sn Snakes and scorpions are examples of the hostility in the creation that is defeated by Jesus. The use of battle imagery shows who the kingdom fights against. See Acts 28:3-6.

²⁵ tn Or “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and [authority] over the full force of the enemy.” The second prepositional phrase can be taken either as modifying the infinitive πατεῖν (patein, “to tread”) or the noun ἐξουσίαν (exousian, “power”). The former is to be preferred and has been represented in the translation.

²⁶ tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.