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Revelation 9:5

in Revelation 9

The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Revelation 9

Commentary

11 notes on this verse

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:1-5 · Written before 614.

That these spiritual locusts sting people after the manner of scorpions shows the baneful death of the soul that lies hidden at the end of evil deeds. Those are subjected to [such a death] who have not signed their forehead with the divine seal and …

This site's exposition

the torment of a scorpion

on Revelation 9:5-6

The torment is bounded at five months, likely the natural lifespan of a locust swarm in that region, and it is limited to pain rather than death, tormented as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man, a sting rather than a kill. The chapter's most chilling line follows: in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them, a judgment so severe that the mercy of dying is itself withheld, the ordinary escape of the grave closed to those under this particular wrath.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Caesarius of Arles

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:4, HOMILY 7 · Written before 542.

proposed

There are two parts in the church, one part of those who are good and one part of those who are evil. The one part is persecuted in order that it might be corrected; the other part is given up to its own desires. A …

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

Could it be that some of the Fathers accepted the concept of restoration [ἀποκατάστασιν] from this point onward, saying that sinners are punished only up to this time, but thereafter no longer, as if they have been purified by the punishment? But what should be …

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Alcuin of York

COMMENTARY ON REVELATION · Written before 804.

proposed

And it was given unto them that they should not kill them; but that they should torment them five months yet. If those who do not have the sign are reprobates, how can the locusts be forbidden from killing them? And can it be that …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And it was said to them that they should not kill them, etc. Although heretics, empowered by secular authority, are allowed to attack the good temporally, they cannot kill the soul, as the Lord says. For the time of the world is signified by five …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. Just as the scorpion spreads poison from its hind parts, so the impiety of the wicked harms from behind, when it compels temporal things, which are behind, to be preferred …
4 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And to them it was given that they should not kill them,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

And to them it was given - There is here the same indefiniteness as in the former verse, the impersonal verb being here also used. The writer does not say by whom this power was given, whether by God, or by the leader of the host. It may be admitted, however, that the most natural interpretation is to suppose that it was given them by God, and that this was the execution of his purpose in this case.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

they . . . they--The subject changes: the first "they" is the locusts; the second is the unsealed. five months--the ordinary time in the year during which locusts continue their ravages. their torment--the torment of the sufferers.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

To them it was given - That is, they were permitted. That they should be tormented five months - Some take these months literally, and apply them to the conduct of the Zealots who, from May to September, in the year of the siege, produced dreadful contests among the people; or to the afflictions brought upon the Jews by Cestius Gallus, when he came against Jerusalem, before which he lay one whole summer, or nearly five months - See Joseph., Bell. Jud., l. ii. c. 19. Others consider the months as being prophetical months, each day being reckoned for a year; therefore this period must amount to one hundred and fifty years, counting thirty days to each month, as was the general custom of the Asiatics. Their torment was as the torment of a scorpion - The phraseology here is peculiar, and probably refers to the warlike weapon called a scorpion, several of which, or men armed with them, Cestius Gallus brought with him in his army. Isidore describes this scorpion thus: Scorpio est sagitta venenata arcu vel tormentis excussa, quea, dum ad hominem venerit, virus qua figit infundit; unde et scorpio nomen accepit. “The scorpion is a poisoned arrow shot from a bow or other instrument, which, when it wounds a man, deposits the poison with which it is covered in the wound; whence it has the name of scorpion.” Seneca, in his Hercules Oetaeus, act iv., ver. 1218, describes the torment which is occasioned by this species of poisoned arrow: - Heu qualis intus scorpius, quis fervida Plaga revulsus cancer infixus meas Urit medullas?

The words behind it

22 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • καὶAnd

    kaiG2532 →9120 times

  • ἐδόθηit was granted

    edotheG1325 →412 times

  • αὐτοῖςto them

    autoisG846 →5565 times

  • ἵναthat

    inaG2443 →668 times

  • μὴnot

    meG3361 →1066 times

  • ἀποκτείνωσινthey may kill

    apokteinosinG615 →74 times

  • αὐτούς,them,

    autousG846 →5565 times

  • ἀλλ᾽but

    all᾽G235 →635 times

  • ἵναthat

    inaG2443 →668 times

  • βασανισθήσονταιthey will torment [them]

    basanisthesontaiG928 →12 times

  • μῆναςmonths

    menasG3376 →18 times

  • πέντε,five,

    penteG4002 →38 times

  • καὶAnd

    kaiG2532 →9120 times

  • ὁthe

    hoG3588 →19766 times

  • βασανισμὸςtorment

    basanismosG929 →6 times

  • αὐτῶνof them

    autonG846 →5565 times

  • ὡς[was] like

    hosG5613 →500 times

  • βασανισμὸςtorment

    basanismosG929 →6 times

  • σκορπίουof a scorpion

    skorpiouG4651 →5 times

  • ὅτανwhen

    hotanG3752 →123 times

  • παίσῃit may strike

    paiseG3817 →

  • ἄνθρωπον.¶a man.

    anthroponG444 →549 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Revelation 9:10They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.8 worksJob 2:6“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”6 worksRevelation 9:3And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.5 works2 Chronicles 10:11Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”2 worksDaniel 5:18–22As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.1 worksRevelation 13:5The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.1 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 13:7Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.1 worksRevelation 11:7When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.0 worksJohn 19:11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”0 worksRevelation 9:15So the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.0 worksDaniel 7:6Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.-1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Revelation 13:5

    The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.

    it leads to

    • Daniel 7:8

      While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a…

    • Daniel 7:25

      He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…

    • Revelation 12:6

      And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.

    • Daniel 11:36

      Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the…

  • Through

    Job 2:6

    “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 10:13

      No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will…

    • Luke 22:31–32

      Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.

    • Revelation 2:10

      Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…

  • Through

    Revelation 9:3

    And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.

    it leads to

    • Joel 1:4

      What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Transfiguration, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
The Transfiguration, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 9 →
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alcuin of York, COMMENTARY ON REVELATION; Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:1-5; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Caesarius of Arles, EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:4, HOMILY 7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation.

Read on in Revelation 9 →