Revelation 9:11
What does Revelation 9:11 mean?
A plain-English look at Revelation 9:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Revelation 9:11 means
Over the locusts stands a king, the angel of the abyss, named Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek—both meaning Destroyer. His title confirms the origin and purpose of the horde: they are organized under a personal, malevolent leader. The presence of a king shows they are not random forces but a hierarchy from the pit. Yet even this Destroyer operates within God’s leash, as the earlier limits prove. The verse unmasks the spiritual character of the affliction: it is demonic, directed, and destructive, and it reveals how far divine patience will go to awaken the unsealed to their peril.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name Apollyon.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name Apollyon.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949They have over them as king the angel of the great deep: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek language Apollyon.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and they have over them a king--the messenger of the abyss--a name <FI>is<Fi> to him in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in the Greek he hath a name, Apollyon.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752A king, the angel of the bottomless pit (whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon, in Latin Exterminans).
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890They have a king over them, the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in Greek he has [for] name Apollyon.
Context
This identification caps the portrait of the fifth-trumpet army. Having detailed their appearance, power, duration, and targets, John now names their ruler, reinforcing their abyssal origin. The next verse (12) marks the conclusion of the first Woe and signals that more is coming. The transition prepares readers to compare the nature of the fifth trumpet’s torment with the sixth trumpet’s widespread death.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ephesians 2:2
wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience;
- 1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
- John 14:30
I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me;
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.
- John 12:31
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
- John 16:11
of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged.
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