God’s Word Translation
Revelation 9:7
7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They seemed to have crowns that looked like gold on their heads. Their faces were like human faces.
Revelation 9:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
- New International Version (NIV)The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,
- New King James Version (NKJV)The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
Context of Revelation 9:7
5They were not allowed to kill them. They were only allowed to torture them for five months. Their torture was like the pain of a scorpion’s sting. 6At that time people will look for death and never find it. They will long to die, but death will escape them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They seemed to have crowns that looked like gold on their heads. Their faces were like human faces. 8They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like lions’ teeth. 9They had breastplates like iron. The noise from their wings was like the roar of chariots with many horses rushing into battle.
Read all of Revelation 9Revelation 9:7 word by word
καὶ τὰ ὁμοιώματα τῶν ἀκρίδων ὅμοια ἵπποις ἡτοιμασμένοις εἰς πόλεμον, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν ὡς στέφανοι ὅμοιοι χρυσῷ, καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὡς πρόσωπα ἀνθρώπων.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- the shapesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the shapesὁμοίωμαhomoiōma · likenessG3667
- of the locustsἀκρίςakris · locustG200
- like untoὅμοιοςhomoios · likeG3664
- horsesἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
- preparedἑτοιμάζωhetoimazō · to make readyG2090
- untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- battleπόλεμοςpolēmos · warG4171
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- headsκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
- as it wereὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- crownsστέφανοςstephanos · crownG4735
- goldχρυσόςchrusos · goldG5557
- facesπρόσωπονprosōpon · faceG4383
- of menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
Cross-references for Revelation 9:7
- Joel 2:4The soldiers look like horses. They run like war horses.
- Nahum 3:17Your officers are like locusts, and your scribes are like swarms of locusts that settle on the fences when it is cold. The sun rises, and they scatter in every direction. No one knows where they’ve gone.
- Daniel 7:4The first animal was like a lion, but it had wings like an eagle. I watched until its wings were plucked off and it was lifted off the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human and was given a human mind.
Commentaries on Revelation 9:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The locusts were like unto horses - This description of the locusts appears to be taken from Joel 2:4. The whole of this symbolical description of an overwhelming military force agrees very well with the troops of Mohammed. The Arabs are the most expert horsemen in the world: they live so much on horseback that the horse and his rider seem to make but one animal. The Romans also were eminent for their cavalry. Crowns like gold - Not only alluding to their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle - The resemblance between the locust and the horse, dissimilar as they are in most respects, has been often remarked. Dr. Robinson (Bib. Research. i. 59) says: “We found today upon the shrubs an insect, either a species of black locust, or much resembling them, which our Bedouin called Farras el Jundy, soldiers‘ horses.‘ They said these insects were common on Mount Sinai, of a green…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-10Some people view these locusts as symbols of attack helicopters, missiles, or other modern weapons. However, they originate from the Abyss, not from human creation. The description of these creatures, based on the appearance of locusts, is intended to cause fear and disgust. Their gold crowns show that their torment affects much of the earth.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. prepared unto battle--Greek, "made ready unto war." Compare Note, see on Joe 2:4, where the resemblance of locusts to horses is traced: the plates of a horse armed for battle are an image on a larger scale of the outer shell of the locust. crowns--(Na 3:17). Elliott explains this of the turbans of Mohammedans. But how could turbans be "like gold?" Alford understands it of the head of the locusts actually ending in a crown-shaped fillet which resembled…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 9:7
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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