New Living Translation
Revelation 9:17
17And 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Revelation 9:17
15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. 16I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops. 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. 18One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses. 19Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.
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 wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots 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 9:18One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses.
- Revelation 14:10must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.
- Revelation 19:20And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- Revelation 21:8“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Genesis 19:24Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Psalms 11:6He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds.
- Isaiah 30:33Topheth—the place of burning— has long been ready for the Assyrian king; the pyre is piled high with wood. The breath of the Lord, like fire from a volcano, will set it ablaze.
- Ezekiel 33:22The previous evening the Lord had taken hold of me and given me back my voice. So I was able to speak when this man arrived the next morning.
- 1 Chronicles 12:8Some brave and experienced warriors from the tribe of Gad also defected to David while he was at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were expert with both shield and spear, as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the mountains.
- Isaiah 5:28Their arrows will be sharp and their bows ready for battle. Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves, and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries