English Standard Version
Revelation 9:17
17And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.
Revelation 9:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
- New International Version (NIV)The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths.
Context of Revelation 9:17
15So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19For 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.
Read all of Revelation 9Revelation 9:17 word by word
Καὶ οὕτως εἶδον τοὺς ἵππους ἐν τῇ ὁράσει καὶ τοὺς καθημένους ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἔχοντας θώρακας πυρίνους καὶ ὑακινθίνους καὶ θειώδεις. καὶ αἱ κεφαλαὶ τῶν ἵππων ὡς κεφαλαὶ λεόντων, καὶ ἐκ τῶν στομάτων αὐτῶν ἐκπορεύεται πῦρ καὶ καπνὸς καὶ θεῖον.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- thusοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- I sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- the horsesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the horsesἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- the visionὅρασιςhorasis · appearance/visionG3706
- that satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- havingἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- breastplatesθώραξthōrax · breastplateG2382
- of fireπύρινοςpurinos · fieryG4447
- of jacinthὑακίνθινοςhuakinthinos · dark blueG5191
- brimstoneθειώδηςtheiōdēs · sulphurousG2306
- the headsκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- of lionsλέωνleōn · lionG3023
- outἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- mouthsστόμαstoma · mouthG4750
- issuedἐκπορεύωekporeuomai · to departG1607
- fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
- smokeκαπνόςkapnos · smokeG2586
- brimstoneθεῖονtheion · sulfurG2303
Cross-references for Revelation 9:17
- Revelation 9:9they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.
- Revelation 21:20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
- Revelation 9:18By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.
- Revelation 14:10he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
- Revelation 19:20And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
- Revelation 21:8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
- Genesis 19:24Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
- Psalms 11:6Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
- Isaiah 30:33For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
- Ezekiel 33:22Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
- 1 Chronicles 12:8From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains:
- Isaiah 5:28their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
Commentaries on Revelation 9:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Breastplates of fire - jacinth, and brimstone - That is, red, blue, and yellow; the first is the color of fire, the second of jacinth, and the third of sulphur. And the heads of the horses - Is this an allegorical description of great ordnance? Cannons, on the mouths of which horses' heads were formed, or the mouth of the cannon cast in that form? Fire, smoke, and brimstone, is a good allegorical representation of gunpowder. The Ottomans made great use of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17And thus I saw the horses in the vision - That is, he saw them as he proceeds to describe them, for the word “thus” - ̔́ houtōs- refers to what follows. Compare Robinson‘s Lexicon on the word (b), and see Matthew 1:18; Matthew 2:5; John 21:1; Hebrews 4:4. Prof. Stuart, however, refers to what precedes. The meaning, as it seems to me, is, that he fixed his attention on the appearance of the immense army - the horses and their riders, and proceeded to…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. 1717. thus--as follows. of fire--the fiery color of the breastplates answering to the fire which issued out of their mouths. of jacinth--literally, "of hyacinth color," the hyacinth of the ancients answering to our dark blue iris: thus, their dark, dull-colored breastplates correspond to the smoke out of their mouths. brimstone--sulphur-colored: answering to the brimstone or sulphur out of their mouths.Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 9:17
In the dictionaries
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
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