The big picture
Revelation 9 opens in verse 1 with “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 11 with “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in…”, and closes in verse 21 with “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their…” Repeated or prominent terms include smoke, angel, earth, heads, horses. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Revelation · King James Version · 21Revelation 9:1-7
1–7: The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the…
Revelation 9:1–7 opens with “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was…” and reaches “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The fifth and sixth trumpets with abyss, locust-like powers, released forces, and humanity still refusing repentance, with particular weight carried by earth, smoke, bottomless.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the…” The line’s distinctive content terms include angel, bottomless, earth. Its relationship to verses 2 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun…” The line’s distinctive content terms include smoke, arose, bottomless. Its relationship to verses 1 and 3 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth…” The line’s distinctive content terms include earth, power, locusts. Its relationship to verses 2 and 4 shows what work it does in this passage.
Revelation 9:1-7
King James Version1And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5And 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.
6And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8-14
8–14: They had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of…
Revelation 9:8–14 opens with “And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.” and reaches “Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The fifth and sixth trumpets with abyss, locust-like powers, released forces, and humanity still refusing repentance, with particular weight carried by angel, breastplates, hair.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.” The line’s distinctive content terms include hair, teeth, lions. Its relationship to verses 9 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots…” The line’s distinctive content terms include breastplates, sound, battle. Its relationship to verses 8 and 10 shows what work it does in this passage.
Revelation 9:8-14
King James Version8And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Revelation 9:15-21
15–21: The four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day…
Revelation 9:15–21 opens with “And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a…” and reaches “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The fifth and sixth trumpets with abyss, locust-like powers, released forces, and humanity still refusing repentance, with particular weight carried by brimstone, fire, heads.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the…” The number four makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.” The number two makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and…” The line’s distinctive content terms include brimstone, fire, heads. Its relationship to verses 16 and 18 shows what work it does in this passage.
Revelation 9:15-21
King James Version15And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17And 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.
18By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19For 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.
20And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Revelation 9:1 begins with “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”
Where the chapter turns
Revelation 9:11 forms a natural hinge: “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name…”
The final note
Revelation 9:21 leaves the reader with “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words smoke, angel, earth, heads, horses, power help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
Who is included in the covenant?
Noah, his descendants and every living creature. Trace the repeated wording in verses 8-17.
Why does verse 6 matter after the flood?
It grounds the protection of every human life in the continuing divine image.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.
