Revelation 9:5

Revelation 9:5 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

Context of Revelation 9:5

3Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only those people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it stings someone. 6In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them. 7The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. Something like golden crowns was on their heads; their faces were like human faces;

Revelation 9:5 word by word

καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτούς, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα βασανισθήσονται μῆνας πέντε, καὶ ὁ βασανισμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς βασανισμὸς σκορπίου ὅταν παίσῃ ἄνθρωπον.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• to themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• it was givenδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• they shouldἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• notμήmē · notG3361
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• they should be tormentedβασανίζωbasanizō · to torture: tortureG928
• fiveπέντεpente · fiveG4002
• monthsμήνmēn · monthG3376
• tormentὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• tormentβασανισμόςbasanismos · tormentG929
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• of a scorpionσκορπίοςskorpios · scorpionG4651
• whenὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
• he strikethπαίωpaiō · to strikeG3817
• a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for Revelation 9:5

• Revelation 13:5The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.
• Daniel 5:18Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, greatness, glory, and majesty to your predecessor Nebuchadnezzar.
• Daniel 7:6“After this, while I was watching, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads, and it was given dominion.
• John 19:11“You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
• Revelation 11:7When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.
• Job 2:6“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.”
• Revelation 9:10and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power to harm people for five months.
• Revelation 9:3Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth.

Commentaries on Revelation 9:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5To 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…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And 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. Still it is remarkable that this is not directly…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5torment them for five months: This time period is a symbolically complete number based on the fingers on a hand. It is also the normal life span of locusts, suggesting that their entire purpose was to torture people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. 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. This fifth verse and Re 9:6 cannot refer to an invading army. For an army would kill, and not merely torment.Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 9:5

• Despondency
• Locust
• Scorpion
• Trumpet
• Vision
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Abaddon
• Angel
• Authority in Religion
• Government
• Revelation of John
• Scorpion
• Text of the Old Testament

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