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 locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions. 4They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting. 6In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them! 7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• to themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• it was givenδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• they shouldἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• notμήmē · notG3361
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• they should be tormentedβασανίζωbasanizō · to torture: tortureG928
• fiveπέντεpente · fiveG4002
• monthsμήνmēn · monthG3376
• tormentὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• tormentβασανισμόςbasanismos · tormentG929
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• of a scorpionσκορπίοςskorpios · scorpionG4651
• whenὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
• he strikethπαίωpaiō · to strikeG3817
• a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for Revelation 9:5

• Revelation 13:5Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.
• Daniel 5:18Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar.
• Daniel 7:6Then the third of these strange beasts appeared, and it looked like a leopard. It had four bird’s wings on its back, and it had four heads. Great authority was given to this beast.
• John 19:11Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
• Revelation 11:7When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.
• Job 2:6“All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.”
• Revelation 9:10They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people.
• Revelation 9:3Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions.

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