New International Version
Revelation 9:7
7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces.
Context of Revelation 9:7
5They 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. 6During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots 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 2:4They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.
- Nahum 3:17Your guards are like locusts, your officials like swarms of locusts that settle in the walls on a cold day— but when the sun appears they fly away, and no one knows where.
- Daniel 7:4“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
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
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