the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
power
ἐξουσίαexousia
G1849
privilege · noun — nominative singular feminine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
their
αὐτῶν.autōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
mouth
στόματιstomati
G4750
the mouth (as if a gash in the face) · noun — dative singular neuter
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
their
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
tails
οὐραῖςourais
G3769
a tail · noun — dative plural feminine
for
γὰρgar
G1063
properly · conjunction
their
αὐταῖςautais
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural feminine
tails
οὐραὶourai
G3769
a tail · noun — nominative plural feminine
unto
ὅμοιαιhomoiai
G3664
similar (in appearance or character) · adjective — nominative plural feminine
serpents
ὄφεσινophesin
G3789
a snake · noun — dative plural masculine
had
ἔχουσαιechousai
G2192
to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative plural feminine
heads
κεφαλὰςkephalas
G2776
the head (as the part most readily taken hold of) · noun — accusative plural feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
with
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
them
αὐτόςautós
G846
the reflexive pronoun self
hurt
ἀδικοῦσιν.adikousin
G91
to be unjust · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
Revelation 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Revelation 9:13–end
Here let us consider the preface to this vision, and then the vision itself.
I. The preface to this vision: A voice was heard from the horns of the golden altar, Rev 9:13, Rev 9:14. Here observe, 1. The power of the church's enemies is restrained till God gives the word to have them turned loose. 2. When nations are ripe for punishment, those instruments of God's anger that were before restrained are let loose upon them, Rev 9:14. 3. The instruments that God makes use of to punish a people may sometimes lie at a great distance from them, so that no danger may be apprehended from them. These four messengers of divine judgment lay bound in the river Euphrates, a great way from the European nat…
their--A, B, C and Aleph read, "the power of the horses."
in their mouth--whence issued the fire, smoke, and brimstone (Rev 9:17). Many interpreters understand the horsemen to refer to the myriads of Turkish cavalry arrayed in scarlet, blue, and yellow (fire, hyacinth, and brimstone), the lion-headed horses denoting their invincible courage, and the fire and brimstone out of their mouths, the gunpowder and artillery introduced into Europe about this time, and employed by the Turks; the tails, like serpents, having a venomous sting, the false religion of Mohammed supplanting Christianity, or, as ELLIOTT thinks, the Turkish pachas' horse tails, worn as a symbol of authority. (!) All this is…
Their power is in their mouth - From these the destructive balls are projected; and in their tails, the breech where the charge of gunpowder is lodged.
Their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads - If cannons are intended, the description, though allegorical, is plain enough; for brass ordnance especially are frequently thus ornamented, both at their muzzles and at their breech.
John Gill on Revelation 9:19
The Church Fathers
For their tails are like serpents, etc. False teachers, like the ancient serpent who deceived man, supported by the patronage of rulers, harm more than if they persuaded only by speech. He sits, he says, in ambush with the rich (Ps. X).
For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. That is, in speech and in action; for the prophet teaching lies, he is the tail. Who covers in a certain way the blind and unclean part with the volubility of a flattering tongue, saying to the wicked: You are good.
The power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. By the mouth is represented the knowledge of teachers, and by the tail, which should be placed behind, temporal power. So their power is in their mouths and tails because their way of preaching is to persuade people of wrong things; but as they are sustained by temporal powers, they are exalted through the things that are behind. For their tails are like to serpents, and have heads: and with them they hurt. Here, inversely, wicked teachers are represented by the tails, and secular power by the heads. It is fitting to say that bad preachers are like serpents, because it is with the voice of the one whose hiss Eve was allured by that they advise bad things. Since it is with the support of powerful people that they violently bring many people to do forbidden things, it is right to say that they have heads, which, according to another translation, are called dragons' heads.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Serpent · Constriction of — Constriction of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
For their power is in their mouth,.... In what proceeded out of their mouth, or seethed to do so; in their guns, and what came out of them:
and in their tails; which may design their foot soldiers, which were as the tail to their horse, and who sometimes did great service; or their way of fighting when they fled, by casting up arrows into the air, which would fall upon the heads and horses of those that pursued them; or their ambushments, by which they destroyed many; or their perfidious violation of treaties; or it may be their tails may intend the doctrine of Mahomet, the false prophet, who is the tail, Isaiah 9:15,
for their tails were like unto serpents; crooked, crafty, poisonous, and…
The riders had armor in colors that matched the plagues of their horses, with red for fire, blue for smoke, and yellow for sulfur—all of which are signs of judgment in Scripture (see 14:10-11; 19:20; Gen 19:24-28; Ps 11:6; Ezek 38:22; Luke 17:29). • The horses are reminiscent of the terrifying monsters of Greek tales pictured on ancient buildings and celebrated in ancient dramas. • One-third: See study note on Rev 8:7-12.
