Revelation 9:19 BSB

Revelation 9:19

For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt.

KJV

For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

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Commentary

3 voices

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 9:17-19 (614)

"The fire that proceeds with smoke and sulfur from their mouths," through which one third of humankind is killed, signifies those sins that consume the fruits of the heart by means of the poisonous assaults and instigations of the demons. Or the fire signifies the …

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

Bede

Commentary on Revelation (735)

For their tails are like serpents, etc. False teachers, like the ancient serpent who deceived man, supported by the patronage of rulers, harm more than if they persuaded only by speech. He sits, he says, in ambush with the rich (Ps. X).

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

For the power of these horses is in their mouths, and in their tails - Their riders fight retreating as well as advancing: so that their rear is as terrible as their front. For their tails are like serpents, having heads - Not like the tails of serpents only.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

For their power is in their mouth - That is, as described in the fire, smoke, and brimstone that proceeded out of their mouths. What struck the seer as remarkable on looking on the symbol was, that this immense destruction seemed to proceed out of their mouths. It was not that they trampled down their enemies; nor that they destroyed them with the sword, the bow, or the spear: it was some new and remarkable power in warfare - in which the destruction seemed to proceed from fire, and smoke, and sulphur issuing from the mouths of the horses themselves.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

27 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
ἐξουσία	exousia	power	G1849 →
τῶν	tōn	of the	G3588 →
ἵππων	ippōn	horses	G2462 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
τῷ	tō	the	G3588 →
στόματι	stomati	mouths	G4750 →
αὐτῶν	autōn	of them	G846 →
ἐστιν	estin	are	G1510 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
ταῖς	tais	the	G3588 →
οὐραῖς	ourais	tails	G3769 →
αὐτῶν.	autōn	of them.	G846 →
αἱ	hai	the	G3588 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
οὐραὶ	ourai	tails	G3769 →
αὐτῶν	autōn	of them	G846 →
ὅμοιαι	homoiai	[are] like	G3664 →
ὄφεσιν	ophesin	as serpents	G3789 →
ἔχουσαι	echousai	having	G2192 →
κεφαλὰς	kephalas	heads	G2776 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐν	en	with	G1722 →
αὐταῖς	autais	them	G846 →
ἀδικοῦσιν.	adikousin	they injure.	G91 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ephesians 4:14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
leads to
- Hebrews 13:9
  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to…
- Romans 16:17–18
  Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
  Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- 1 John 4:1
  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Hebrews 5:12–14
  Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!
Through
Revelation 9:10
They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.
leads to
- Revelation 9:5
  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.
- 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.
Through
Isaiah 9:15
The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
leads to
- Matthew 24:24
  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

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Satan

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The Names of Satan

Scripture rarely gives the adversary a plain name — it gives him titles, and each one is a claim about what he does.

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Taw — The Mark of God

The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet — drawn in the Sinaitic script as a cross — appears at the decisive moments of judgment and rescue: the doorposts of Goshen, the foreheads in Jerusalem, the sealing of the 144,000, and the cross at Golgotha.

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The Key

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About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Revelation: the study guide →Read chapter 9 →The featured study →

Continue: Revelation 9 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Revelation

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Revelation