Revelation of John 9:5 · Bible study
Revelation 9:5 Commentary: Limited Torment and the Scorpion's Sting
Greek · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the meaning of the five-month period and the restriction to torment in Revelation 9:5, with insights from original Greek and church history.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The locusts are permitted to torment but not kill, and only for a fixed five-month period, showing God sets boundaries on judgment.
- Key words: edothē (it was granted), divine passive; basanismos (torment, like testing by touchstone); paisē (strike, of a scorpion sting).
- Main debate: Are the five months literal (locust life cycle) or prophetic (150 years)?
- Theological theme: Divine sovereignty and mercy in judgment, pain has purpose and limits.
- Best use: To comfort believers that even the judgments of God are measured, and to warn that rejection of divine protection leads to exposure.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They were given power, not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a person.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And it was given them 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 it striketh a man.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and it was given to them that they may not kill them, but that they may be tormented five months, and their torment is as the torment of a scorpion, when it may strike a man;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and it was given to them 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 it strikes a man.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And it was given unto them that they should not kill them: but that they should torment them five months. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y les fué dado que no los matasen, sino que los atormentasen cinco meses; y su tormento era como tormento de escorpión, cuando hiere al hombre.
E foi-lhes concedido que não os matassem, mas sim que os atormentassem por cinco meses; e o tormento deles era semelhante ao tormento do escorpião, quando fere ao homem.
Il leur fut donné, non de les tuer, mais de les tourmenter pendant cinq mois; et le tourment qu’ elles causaient était comme le tourment que cause le scorpion, quand il pique un homme.
Und es ward ihnen gegeben, daß sie sie nicht töteten, sondern sie quälten fünf Monate lang; und ihre Qual war wie eine Qual vom Skorpion, wenn er einen Menschen schlägt.
En hun werd macht gegeven, niet dat zij hen zouden doden, maar dat zij zouden van hen gepijnigd worden vijf maanden; en hun pijniging was als de pijniging van een schorpioen, wanneer hij een mens gestoken heeft.
E fu loro dato, non di ucciderli, ma di tormentarli per cinque mesi; e il tormento che cagionavano era come quello prodotto da uno scorpione quando ferisce un uomo.
A dano im, nie żeby ich zabijały, ale aby ich dręczyły przez pięć miesięcy, a udręczenie ich, aby było jako udręczenie od niedźwiadka, gdy człowieka ukąsi.
И дано ей не убивать их, а только мучить пять месяцев; и мучение от нее подобно мучению от скорпиона, когда ужалит человека.
但 不 許 蝗蟲 害死 他們，只叫 他們受痛苦 五個 月。 這 痛苦 就像 蠍子 螫 人 的痛苦一樣。
And orders were given them not to put them to death, but to give them great pain for five months: and their pain was as the pain from the wound of a scorpion.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Revelation of John 9:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Revelation 9:5 describes divinely limited judgment. The locusts from the abyss receive power to torment but not kill, and only for five months. The passive verb edothē (“it was granted”, aorist passive) implies the limitation comes from God, though the agent is not named, Barnes and Gill both note the impersonal construction leaves open whether the power is given by God or the abyss's angel, yet the surrounding context of God's sovereignty (Rev 9:4) pushes toward divine permission. The torment is compared to a scorpion's sting, which Vincent says is intensely painful but not normally fatal. On the five months, the Cambridge Bible observes this matches the typical lifespan of literal locusts, while Barnes and Clarke allow for a prophetic day, year interpretation (150 years). All agree the verse teaches that even in severe judgment, God sets boundaries, a theme echoed in Job 2:6 where Satan cannot take Job's life.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal locust season: Five months matches the natural lifespan of locusts from April to September; the scorpion sting is a natural symbol of pain.
- Prophetic day-year (150 years): Apocalyptic time often uses a day for a year (cf. Daniel 9:24, Revelation 9:15); supported by Barnes and Clarke.
- Symbolic limited period: The exact duration is less important than the fact it is bounded; five months may represent ‘incomplete’ or ‘temporary’ judgment.
What is clear: The locusts' power is limited: they may only torment those without God's seal, and they may not kill; the torment has a definite end.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Duration of torment (five months) | The five months denote a specific, limited period set by God, not indefinite. | Literally (the active season of locusts and scorpions) versus prophetically (150 years, using a day‑year principle). |
| Identity of the locusts | They are not literal insects but symbolic beings (demonic or human) that inflict pain. | What historical movement they represent: some see the Saracens (early Muslim conquests), others the corrupt medieval church, others a still‑future event. |
| Source of the locusts' power | The power is ‘given’ from an outside authority, not inherent. | Whether directly from God (the stronger view due to Rev 9:4) or from the angel of the abyss (the fallen star). |
| Nature of the torment | It is genuine suffering, not fatal, compared to a scorpion's sting, intense but survivable. | Whether the torment is primarily physical (e.g., warfare) or spiritual/psychological (e.g., religious guilt). |
Historical & Cultural Context
The fifth trumpet in Revelation draws heavily on the exodus plague of locusts (Exodus 10) but transforms it into something far more terrifying. In the ancient Near East, locust swarms were symbols of divine judgment, they could strip the land bare and bring famine. John's locusts are not natural insects but demonic beings from the abyss, given power like scorpions. The scorpion was a familiar threat in Palestine: its sting causes excruciating pain that can last for days but rarely kills a healthy adult. Dr. Thomson, cited by Vincent, notes that the scorpion cannot strike sideways, making the imagery of a direct strike even more pointed.
The five-month period has multiple layers. Literal locusts in the region are active roughly from April to September, five hot months. This natural cycle would have been known to John's audience. Some early interpreters like Adam Clarke attempted to correlate the period with historical events: the siege of Jerusalem by Cestius Gallus lasted about five months (May to September), or the Zealots' terror within the city. Others, following the prophetic time principle of Numbers 14:34 / Ezekiel 4:6, read the five months as 150 years, pointing to the Saracen caliphate or medieval monastic oppression (Gill). The diversity shows that precise identification is debated, but the limitation itself, a fixed, definite time, is the verse's main point.
The literary context reinforces restraint. Verse 4 says the locusts may not hurt the earth's vegetation, only the unsealed. Verse 5 adds they may not kill. This progressive restriction contrasts with the sixth trumpet (Rev 9:15-18) where a third of humanity is killed. The scorpion-like torment but not death shows that this woe aims at repentance through suffering, not annihilation.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Revelation 9:5. The Greek text is stable across major manuscript families, with only minor scribal differences in word order (e.g., placing pente before or after mēnas) that do not affect meaning. The verse's reading is universally accepted.
Reception History
Revelation 9:5 has been read primarily within the historicist and futurist traditions of interpretation. Early church fathers like Victorinus of Pettau (3rd century) saw the fifth trumpet as a judgment upon the Roman empire, with the five months possibly referring to limited persecution. In the medieval period, commentators like Joachim of Fiore applied the locusts to heresies and corrupt clergy. The Reformation era (e.g., Geneva Bible notes, Luther) often identified the locusts with the papacy or monastic orders, reading the five months as a period of spiritual tyranny. Modern interpreters are more cautious, either treating the imagery as symbolic of the general pattern of divine judgment or looking for future fulfillment in the end times. Despite varied identifications, the constant thread has been the recognition that God sovereignly limits the severity and duration of His judgments, a hope that has comforted persecuted Christians throughout history.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- Divine Boundaries, The locusts are “given” power; God sets the limits. Even in judgment, He holds the reins.
- Torment, Not Death, The scorpion sting brings prolonged suffering but not finality. Spiritual or historical realities that afflict without destroying.
- Fixed Duration, Five months, whether literal or symbolic, signals that the trial is temporary. There is an end.
Five-Point Outline
- The Source of the Power, “It was given them” (divine passive). God permits what He might prevent.
- The Restriction, “Not to kill them, but to torment.” The locusts cannot take life. Their power is circumscribed.
- The Duration, “Five months.” Meaning debated (literal locust season, prophetic years, or symbol of limited time), but all agree: not indefinite.
- The Nature of the Torment, “Like the torment of a scorpion.” Sharp, painful, but not lethal. A picture of spiritual anguish or external affliction.
- The Unsealed as Targets, Those without God's seal (Rev 9:4). The judgment distinguishes between the protected and the exposed.
Illustration Hooks
- A severe wasp sting that swells and burns for hours, painful but temporary. The memory of the sting fades faster than the pain felt.
- A five-month treatment course for a chronic condition: you know it will end, but the daily discipline is hard. The limit gives hope.
- A parent who lets a child face natural consequences but steps in before real harm. The child learns without being destroyed.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Does this verse describe literal future events or historical ones like the Fall of Jerusalem?
- If God is good, why does He send torment at all?
- What does the seal of God mean, and how do we know if we have it?
Leading a Discussion
This verse sits in the middle of the fifth trumpet, one of the “three woes.” The locusts represent a terrifying judgment, but the text repeatedly stresses limits: they cannot harm vegetation, they cannot kill, they are confined to five months. As you discuss, focus not on identifying the locusts but on what the limits tell us about God's character and His purposes in judgment.
Discussion Questions
- Read Revelation 9:5 alongside Revelation 9:4. What do the locusts not have permission to do? Why might that matter?
- The verb “was given” (edothē) is passive. Who do you think is the ultimate giver? How does that shape how we read the judgment?
- Some interpreters see the five months as literal (the locust plague season), others as 150 prophetic years. Which view seems more faithful to the text? What difference does the interpretation make?
- Why compare the torment to a scorpion? What would a first-century reader immediately picture?
- Verse 6 says people will “seek death and not find it.” How does that connect with the limitation in verse 5?
- Does this verse affect how you view difficult times in your own life? How do you see God’s boundaries in personal suffering?
- How can we hold together God’s sovereignty in judgment and His mercy? What other Bible passages help you balance these truths?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 2:6 | Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.” |
| Daniel 5:18 | “To you, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. |
| Daniel 5:22 | “You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, |
| Daniel 7:6 | “After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The animal also had four heads; and dominion was given to it. |
| John 19:11 | Jesus answered, “You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.” |
| Revelation of John 9:3 | Then out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. |
| Revelation of John 9:10 | They have tails like those of scorpions, with stingers. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months. |
| Revelation of John 11:7 | When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke reads the five months as either the literal period of Cestius Gallus's siege of Jerusalem or 150 prophetic years. He takes the scorpion torment as a direct reference to a Roman poisoned arrow called a scorpion, which Gallus's army used. This ties John's vision to specific events in the Jewish war.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the five months of torment in this vision likely refer to a prophetic period of 150 years, not a literal five months, since Revelation regularly uses that kind of time reckoning. He also notes the impersonal language leaves the source of this judgment deliberately ambiguous, though the most natural reading is that God gave the authority.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary notes two ways scholars have understood the five-month period. One suggestion is that it matches the natural duration of a real locust plague. Another view regards it as a symbolic figure, calculated on the same principle as the other time references in Revelation.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note emphasises that the command restricts the creatures' power precisely: they must not harm any plant life, only those human beings who lack God's seal on their foreheads. This careful limitation shows divine protection for the sealed and for creation itself.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill reads the locusts as Saracens in the east and monks and friars in the west, all given power to torment but not to kill. The five months of torment does not mark a fixed period but symbolically lasts as long as the locusts themselves live. Their sting, like a scorpion's, causes severe pain without immediate destruction.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB draws a sharp distinction between the locusts and those they torment, noting that the five months match the natural locust plague season. He insists this cannot describe an invading army, since an army would kill its victims rather than merely torment them.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the fallen star as a spiritual condition rather than a person or angel. He identifies it with repentance separated from faith, a faithless remorse that becomes religious self-torment and opens the abyss within the human soul. This
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that these demonic locusts act under strict divine restraint: they cannot touch the grass, trees, or the sealed, and they cannot kill, only torment for a set time. Their king, named Destroyer in both Hebrew and Greek, rules a realm whose power is real but carefully bounded by God.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent draws attention to the Greek word for torments and then adds a striking natural detail: scorpions cannot strike sideways. All accounts agree that the pain from their sting is horrifying, which deepens the terror of the image.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the phrase "not to kill them" does not mean these believers were spared. Very few were actually put to death; instead, they were generally imprisoned and subjected to various forms of torture.