Revelation 9:19

Revelation 9:19 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

Context of Revelation 9:19

17And this is how I saw the horses and their riders in my vision: the riders had breastplates [the color] of fire and of hyacinth (sapphire blue) and of brimstone (yellow); and the heads of the horses looked like the heads of lions; and from out of their mouths came fire and smoke and brimstone (burning sulfur). 18A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that came from the mouths of the horses. For the power of the horses [to do harm] is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and it is with them that they do harm. 20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent even then of the works of their hands, so as to cease worshiping and paying homage to the demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of bronze and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries (drugs, intoxications) nor of their [sexual] immorality nor of their thefts.

Revelation 9:19 word by word

ἡ γὰρ ἐξουσία τῶν ἵππων ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἐστιν καὶ ἐν ταῖς οὐραῖς αὐτῶν. αἱ γὰρ οὐραὶ αὐτῶν ὅμοιαι ὄφεσιν ἔχουσαι κεφαλὰς καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ἀδικοῦσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• powerὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• mouthστόμαstoma · mouthG4750
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• tailsοὐράoura · tailG3769
• like untoὅμοιοςhomoios · likeG3664
• serpentsὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• headsκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
• they do hurtἀδικέωadikeō · to harmG91

Cross-references for Revelation 9:19

• Revelation 9:10They have tails like scorpions, and stingers; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months.
• Isaiah 9:15The elderly and honorable man, he is the head; And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
• Ephesians 4:14So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit].

Commentaries on Revelation 9:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Their power is in their mouth - From these the destructive balls are projected; and in their tails, the breech where the charge of gunpowder is lodged. Their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads - If cannons are intended, the description, though allegorical, is plain enough; for brass ordnance especially are frequently thus ornamented, both at their muzzles and at their breech.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19For 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-21Verses 13-21 The sixth angel sounded, and here the power of the Turks seems the subject. Their time is limited. They not only slew in war, but brought a poisonous and ruinous religion. The antichristian generation repented not under these dreadful judgments. From this sixth trumpet learn that God can make one enemy of the church a scourge and a plague to another. The idolatry in the remains of the eastern church and elsewhere, and the sins of professed…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-19The riders wore armor in colors matching their horses' plagues: red for fire, blue for smoke, and yellow for sulfur. These are signs of judgment in Scripture (see Revelation 14:10–11; 19:20; Genesis 19:24–28; Psalm 11:6; Ezekiel 38:22; Luke 17:29). The horses resemble the terrifying monsters from Greek stories depicted on ancient buildings and celebrated in old dramas. A third: See study note on Revelation 8:7–12.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. their--A, B, C and Aleph read, "the power of the horses." in their mouth--whence issued the fire, smoke, and brimstone (Re 9:17). Many interpreters understand the horsemen to refer to the myriads of Turkish cavalry arrayed in scarlet, blue, and yellow (fire, hyacinth, and brimstone), the lion-headed horses denoting their invincible courage, and the fire and brimstone out of their mouths, the gunpowder and artillery introduced into Europe about this…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 9:19

• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Serpent
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Abaddon
• Angel
• Authority in Religion
• Government
• Revelation of John
• Tail

Commentaries on Revelation 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings