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 out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. 7The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

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

• they were not permittedδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• to killἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• anyoneαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• but to tormentβασανίζωbasanizō · to torture: tortureG928
• fiveπέντεpente · fiveG4002
• monthsμήνmēn · monthG3376
• and their tormentβασανισμόςbasanismos · tormentG929
• was likeὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• scorpionσκορπίοςskorpios · scorpionG4651
• whenὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
• stingsπαίωpaiō · to strikeG3817
• a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for Revelation 9:5

• Revelation 13:5There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
• Daniel 5:18O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.
• Daniel 7:6After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
• John 19:11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
• Revelation 11:7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
• Job 2:6So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
• Revelation 9:10They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.
• Revelation 9:3Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

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