Revelation 9:2-21

9:2 He ¹  opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it ²  like smoke from a giant furnace. The ³  sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft. 9:3 Then ⁴  out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power ⁵  like that of the scorpions of the earth. 9:4 They ⁶  were told ⁷  not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people ⁸  who did not have the seal of God on their ⁹  forehead. 9:5 The locusts ¹⁰  were not given permission ¹¹  to kill ¹²  them, but only to torture ¹³  them ¹⁴  for five months, and their torture was like that ¹⁵  of a scorpion when it stings a person. ¹⁶  9:6 In ¹⁷  those days people ¹⁸  will seek death, but ¹⁹  will not be able to ²⁰  find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

9:7 Now ²¹  the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On ²²  their heads were something like crowns similar to gold, ²³  and their faces looked like men’s ²⁴  faces. 9:8 They ²⁵  had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9:9 They had breastplates ²⁶  like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. 9:10 They have ²⁷  tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability ²⁸  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. ²⁹ 

9:12 The first woe has passed, but ³⁰  two woes are still coming after these things!

9:13 Then ³¹  the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice coming from the ³²  horns on the golden altar that is before God, 9:14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding ³³  the trumpet, “Set free ³⁴  the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 9:15 Then ³⁵  the four angels who had been prepared for this ³⁶  hour, day, ³⁷  month, and year were set free to kill ³⁸  a third of humanity. 9:16 The ³⁹  number of soldiers on horseback was two hundred million; ⁴⁰  I heard their number. 9:17 Now ⁴¹  this is what the horses and their riders ⁴²  looked like in my ⁴³  vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, ⁴⁴  dark blue, ⁴⁵  and sulfurous ⁴⁶  yellow in color. ⁴⁷  The ⁴⁸  heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur ⁴⁹  came out of their mouths. 9:18 A third of humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is, ⁵⁰  by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths. 9:19 For the power ⁵¹  of the horses resides ⁵²  in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes, having heads that inflict injuries. 9:20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made ⁵³  of gold, silver, ⁵⁴  bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. 9:21 Furthermore, ⁵⁵  they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, ⁵⁶  of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.

[9:2]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:2]  ² tn Grk “the shaft,” but since this would be somewhat redundant in English, the pronoun “it” is used here.

[9:2]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:3]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[9:3]  ⁵ tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”

[9:4]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:4]  ⁷ tn The dative indirect object (αὐταῖς, autais) was converted into the subject (“they”) as this more closely approximates English usage. The following ἵ῞να (Jina) is taken as substantival, introducing a direct object clause. In this case, because it is reported speech, the ἵνα is similar to the declarative ὅτι (Joti).

[9:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.

[9:4]  ⁹ tn The article τῶν (twn) has been translated as a possessive pronoun here (ExSyn 215).

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[9:5]  ¹² tn The two ἵνα (Jina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edoqh).

[9:5]  ¹³ 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.”

[9:5]  ¹⁴ tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.

[9:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.

[9:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.

[9:6]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.

[9:6]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:6]  ²⁰ tn The phrase “not be able to” was used in the translation to emphasize the strong negation (οὐ μή, ou mh) in the Greek text.

[9:7]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the locusts, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.

[9:7]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:7]  ²³ tn The translation attempts to bring out the double uncertainty in this clause in the Greek text, involving both the form (ὡς στέφανοι, Jw" stefanoi, “like crowns”) and the material (ὅμοιοι χρυσῷ, {omoioi crusw, “similar to gold”).

[9:7]  ²⁴ tn Or “human faces.” The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is often used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women. However, because “women’s hair” in the next clause suggests a possible gender distinction here, “men’s” was retained.

[9:8]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:9]  ²⁶ tn Or perhaps, “scales like iron breastplates” (RSV, NRSV) although the Greek term θώραξ (qwrax) would have to shift its meaning within the clause, and elsewhere in biblical usage (e.g., Eph 6:14; 1 Thess 5:8) it normally means “breastplate.” See also L&N 8.38.

[9:10]  ²⁷ tn In the Greek text there is a shift to the present tense here; the previous verbs translated “had” are imperfects.

[9:10]  ²⁸ tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”

[9:11]  ²⁹ sn Both the Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek Apollyon mean “Destroyer.”

[9:12]  ³⁰ tn Grk “behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[9:13]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[9:13]  ³² tc ‡ Several key mss (Ì⁴⁷ א¹ A 0207 1611 2053 2344 pc lat sy^h co) lack the word τεσσάρων (tessarwn, “four”) before κεράτων (keratwn, “horns”). The word seems to have been added by scribes because a “horned” altar (described in the OT [Exod 30:2, 10]) could have only four “horns” or projections at the corners. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[9:14]  ³³ tn Grk “having.”

[9:14]  ³⁴ tn On λῦσον (luson) BDAG 606-7 s.v. λύω 2 states, “set free, loose, untie – a. lit. a pers., animal, or thing that is bound or tied…Angels that are bound Rv 9:14f.”

[9:15]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[9:15]  ³⁶ tn The Greek article τήν (thn) has been translated with demonstrative force here.

[9:15]  ³⁷ tn The Greek term καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term “month” since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[9:15]  ³⁸ tn Grk “so that they might kill,” but the English infinitive is an equivalent construction to indicate purpose here.

[9:16]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “twenty thousand of ten thousands.”

[9:17]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the horses and riders, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.

[9:17]  ⁴² tn Grk “and those seated on them.”

[9:17]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the vision”; the Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:17]  ⁴⁴ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

[9:17]  ⁴⁵ tn On this term BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑακίνθινος states, “hyacinth-colored, i.e. dark blue (dark red?) w. πύρινος Rv 9:17.”

[9:17]  ⁴⁶ tn On this term BDAG 446 s.v. θειώδης states, “sulphurous Rv 9:17.”

[9:17]  ⁴⁷ sn The colors of the riders’ breastplates parallel the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur in v. 18.

[9:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[9:18]  ⁵⁰ tn The phrase ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ τοῦ καπνοῦ καὶ τοῦ θείου τοῦ ἐκπορευομένου ἐκ τῶν στομάτων αὐτῶν (“by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths”) is taken as epexegetical (explanatory) to the phrase τῶν τριῶν πληγῶν τούτων (“these three plagues”).

[9:19]  ⁵¹ tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”

[9:19]  ⁵² tn Grk “is.”

[9:20]  ⁵³ tn The word “made” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[9:20]  ⁵⁴ tn The Greek conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following materials in this list, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[9:21]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, with “furthermore” used to indicate a continuation of the preceding.

[9:21]  ⁵⁶ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”