Revelation 9
Complete Jewish Bible
9 The fifth angel sounded his shofar; and I saw a star that had fallen out of heaven onto the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss. 2 He opened the shaft of the Abyss, and there went up smoke from the shaft like the smoke of a huge furnace; the sun was darkened, and the sky too, by the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then out of the smoke onto the earth came locusts, and they were given power like the power scorpions have on earth. 4 They were instructed not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant or any tree, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 The locusts were not allowed to kill them, only to inflict pain on them for five months; and the pain they caused was like the pain of a scorpion sting. 6 In those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7 Now these locusts looked like horses outfitted for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces. 8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. 9 Their chests were like iron breastplates, and the sound their wings made was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails like those of scorpions, with stings; and in their tails was their power to hurt people for five months. 11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is “Abaddon” and in our language, “Destroyer.”
12 The first woe has passed, but there are still two woes to come.
13 The sixth angel sounded his shofar, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the gold altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel, the one with the shofar, “Release the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 15 And they were released. These four angels had been kept ready for this moment, for this day and month and year, to kill a third of mankind; 16 and the number of cavalry soldiers was two hundred million! — I heard the number.
17 Here is how the horses looked in the vision: the riders had breastplates that were fire-red, iris-blue and sulfur-yellow; the horses’ heads were like lions’ heads; and from their mouths issued fire, smoke and sulfur. 18 It was these three plagues that killed a third of mankind — the fire, smoke and sulfur issuing from the horses’ mouths. 19 For the power of the horses was in their mouths — and also in their tails, for their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they could cause injury.
20 The rest of mankind, those who were not killed by these plagues, even then did not turn from what they had made with their own hands — they did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.[a] 21 Nor did they turn from their murdering, their involvement with the occult and with drugs, their sexual immorality or their stealing.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:20 Psalms 115:4–7; 135:15–17; Daniel 5:23
Hisgalus 9
Orthodox Jewish Bible
9 And the malach hachamishi (fifth angel) sounded his shofar; and I saw a kokhav (star) having fallen out of Shomayim to ha’aretz. And was given to it the mafte’ach (key) of the shaft of the Tehom (Abyss).
2 And he opened the shaft of the Tehom (Abyss), and smoke came up out of the shaft as smoke of a great furnace, and the shemesh (sun) was darkened and the air was darkened by the smoke of the shaft. [BERESHIS 19:28; SHEMOT 19:18; YOEL 2:2,10]
3 And out of the smoke came forth arbeh (locusts) to ha’aretz (the earth), and samchut (authority) was given to them like the samchut of the akrabei ha’aretz (scorpions of the earth). [SHEMOT 10:12-15]
4 And it was told them that they should not harm the grass of ha’aretz (the earth) nor any greenery nor any etz (tree), except the Bnei Adam, all who do not have the chotam (seal) of Hashem on their metsakhim (foreheads) (YECHEZKEL 9:4).
5 And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they will be tormented chamishah chodashim (five months). Their torment is as the torment of an akrav when it stings a man.
6 And in those days Bnei Adam will seek Mavet (Death) and by no means will find it. And they will desire to die and Mavet flees from them. [IYOV 3:21; 7:15; YIRMEYAH 8:3]
7 And the appearances of the arbeh (locusts) were like susim (horses) having been prepared for milchamah (war), and on the heads of them what looked like atarot (diadems) of zahav (gold) and the faces were like the faces of Bnei Adam. [YOEL 2:4;DANIEL 7:8]
8 And they had hair that looked like the hair of an isha (a woman), and they had teeth that looked like the teeth of an aryeh (lion), [YOEL 1:6]
9 and they had breastplates like iron breastplates and the sound of the wings of them was as the sound of many merkavot (chariots) with susim (horses) racing into the sadeh krav (battlefield), [YOEL 2:5]
10 And they have tails like akrabim (scorpions), with stingers, and the ko’ach (power) of them is in their tails to harm Bnei Adam chamishah chodashim (five months).
11 They have over them a melech (king), the malach (angel) of the Tehom (Abyss), the name for him in Ivrit, "Abaddon," (that is, Destruction) and in Elliniki he has the name Apollyon (that is, "Destroyer"). [IYOV 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; TEHILLIM 88:11]
12 The Oy Echad (the First Woe) has passed. Hinei, yet comes two more woes after these things.
13 And the malach hashishi (the sixth angel) sounded his shofar. And I heard kol echad (one voice) from the four horns of the golden Mizbe’ach (altar) before Hashem, [SHEMOT 30:1-3]
14 saying to the malach hashishi, the one having the shofar, Release the arba’at hamalachim (the four angels) having been bound at the great river, Euphrates. [BERESHIS 15:18; DEVARIM 1:7; YEHOSHUA 1:4; YESHAYAH 11:15]
15 And the arba’at hamalachim (four angels) were released, having been prepared for the sha’ah (hour) and the yom (day) and chodesh (month) and shanah (year), that they should kill a third of Bnei Adam.
16 And the mispar (number) of tziveot haparashim (troops of cavalrymen) were twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the mispar of them.
17 And thus I saw the susim (horses) in my chazon (vision, revelation, prophecy) and the riders on them, having breastplates fiery red and hyacinth blue and sulfur yellow, and the heads of the susim like heads of arayot (lions), and from the mouths of them goes forth eish (fire) and smoke and gofrit (sulfur). [TEHILLIM 11:6; YESHAYAH 30:33; YECHEZKEL 38:22]
18 From these shlosh hamakkot (three plagues T.N. this word makkah, makkot [pl.] comes from the Pesach Haggadah `eser makkot’ or ten plagues, and is a key word from here on in the book of Revelation, showing the endtime plagues of the Brit Chadasha Exodus of the Geulah Redemption) were killed a third of Bnei Adam, by the eish (fire) and the smoke and the gofrit (sulfur) coming out of the mouth of them.
19 For the ko’ach (power) of the susim (horses) is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like nechashim (serpents), having heads, and with them they inflict harm.
20 And the rest of the Bnei Adam, the ones not killed by these makkot (plagues), did not make teshuva and turn from the ma’asim (deeds) of their hands or forsake worship of shedim (demons) and the itztzavim (idols, images, tzelamim), those of gold and of silver and of bronze and of stone and of wood, which neither are able to see nor to hear nor to walk. [DEVARIM 4:28; 31:29; YIRMEYAH 1:16; MICHOH 5:13]
21 And they did not make teshuva (repentance, turning from sin to G-d) of the retzichot (murders) of them nor of the kishufim (sorceries) of them nor of the zenunim (fornication) of them nor of the gneyvot (thefts) of them. [YESHAYAH 47:9,12]
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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