Revelation 9:19

Revelation 9:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
• New International Version (NIV)The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

Context of Revelation 9:19

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. 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. Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people. 20But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! 21And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Revelation 9:19 word by word

ἡ γὰρ ἐξουσία τῶν ἵππων ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἐστιν καὶ ἐν ταῖς οὐραῖς αὐτῶν. αἱ γὰρ οὐραὶ αὐτῶν ὅμοιαι ὄφεσιν ἔχουσαι κεφαλὰς καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ἀδικοῦσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• powerὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• mouthστόμαstoma · mouthG4750
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• tailsοὐράoura · tailG3769
• like untoὅμοιοςhomoios · likeG3664
• serpentsὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• headsκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
• they do hurtἀδικέωadikeō · to harmG91

Cross-references for Revelation 9:19

• Revelation 9:10They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people.
• Isaiah 9:15The leaders of Israel are the head, and the lying prophets are the tail.
• Ephesians 4:14Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

Commentaries on Revelation 9:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Their power is in their mouth - From these the destructive balls are projected; and in their tails, the breech where the charge of gunpowder is lodged. Their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads - If cannons are intended, the description, though allegorical, is plain enough; for brass ordnance especially are frequently thus ornamented, both at their muzzles and at their breech.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19For their power is in their mouth - That is, as described in the fire, smoke, and brimstone that proceeded out of their mouths. What struck the seer as remarkable on looking on the symbol was, that this immense destruction seemed to proceed out of their mouths. It was not that they trampled down their enemies; nor that they destroyed them with the sword, the bow, or the spear: it was some new and remarkable power in warfare - in which the destruction…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. 1919. their--A, B, C and Aleph read, "the power of the horses." in their mouth--whence issued the fire, smoke, and brimstone (Re 9:17). Many interpreters understand the horsemen to refer to the myriads of Turkish cavalry arrayed in scarlet, blue, and yellow (fire, hyacinth, and brimstone), the lion-headed horses denoting their invincible courage, and the fire and brimstone out of their mouths, the gunpowder and artillery introduced into Europe about this…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 9:19

• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Serpent
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Abaddon
• Angel
• Authority in Religion
• Government
• Revelation of John
• Tail

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