Revelation Chapter 9 verse 3 Holy Bible

ASV Revelation 9:3

And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
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BBE Revelation 9:3

And from the smoke locusts came out on the earth; and power was given them, like the power of scorpions.
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DARBY Revelation 9:3

And out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have power;
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KJV Revelation 9:3

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
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WBT Revelation 9:3


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WEB Revelation 9:3

Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
read chapter 9 in WEB

YLT Revelation 9:3

And out of the smoke came forth locusts to the earth, and there was given to them authority, as scorpions of the earth have authority,
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. The locust is constantly referred to in the Bible, and various illustrations are drawn from their characteristic features. In the East they appear in great numbers and men are helpless against their devastating power. Sometimes an attempt is made to check their progress by lighting fires, and this practice may have suggested the above description of the locusts proceeding from the smoke. The irresistible destruction which they cause is alluded to in Deuteronomy 28:38; Joel 2:25; 2 Chronicles 7:13; their number in Psalm 105:34; Nahum 3:15. The air is sometimes tainted with their dead bodies (Joel 2:20). The natural features of the locust are fully dwelt upon in vers. 7-10. As an illustration, we may quote Niebuhr, who gives an Arab's description of the locust: "In head like the horse, in breast like the lion, in feet like the camel, in body like the serpent, in tail like the scorpion, in antennae like a virgin's hair." Three out of these five points of resemblance are mentioned in vers. 7-10. The locusts here symbolize heretics and infidels. Some writers (e.g. Wordsworth) apply the symbol to the Mohammedans (see Wordsworth, in loc., where the parallel is very fully worked out). But though this may be, and probably is, a fulfilment of the vision, it would be wrong to thus restrict our interpretation. Scarcely any one cause has contributed more to the trouble and destruction of men than the violence which is the result of religious hatred. Whether it be the heathen idolater, the warlike Mohammedan, or the Christian bigot, who is the agent, the effect is the same. It may be said, too, that if the minds of Christians also had not been darkened by the prejudicial influence of Satan, who is the cause of their unhappy divisions, heresies, and apostasies, these troubles could scarcely have fallen upon mankind. The innumerable occasions of such violence may be well illustrated by the countless number of the locusts; and the effect lives after the death of the authors, tainting the moral atmosphere. It is true that the true Christian sometimes suffers also; but tidal is an aspect which is set forth in the visions of the seals. Here another view is set forth, namely, that the ungodly are themselves punished, and punished severely, by means of this evil influence of the devil. Many other interpretations have been suggested: (1) evil spirits (Andrea,); (2) Roman wars in Judaea (Grotius); (3) the Gothic invasion (Vitringa); . . .

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) And there came . . .--Better, And out of the smoke there came forth locusts upon the earth; and there was given to them power, as the scorpions of the earth (? land-scorpions) have power. The outcome of the gloom is the power of devastation and pain. We still have reference to the Egyptian plagues--this time to the locusts (Exodus 10:12-15): "They covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened." Similarly, Joel describes the darkening of the land through the plague of locusts (Joel 2:3-10): "The sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." But the locusts of our vision are armed with the power of scorpions, to sting and to torture (Revelation 9:5): the scorpions are called scorpions of the earth. Some have thought that this expression is equivalent to land-scorpions, in contradistinction from so-called sea-scorpions. This hardly seems likely or necessary. Their power to torment men is the prominent idea. The locusts are not literal locusts: this scorpion- like power given to them is enough to convince us of this, even it the next verse did not clearly show it. The scorpion-like power seems to depict a malicious energy, as the locusts depict a devastating multitude.