Devine Scripture

Revelation 9:8

What does Revelation 9:8 mean?

A plain-English look at Revelation 9:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Revelation 9:8 means

The locusts have hair like women’s hair and teeth like lions’ teeth. The combination of softness and savagery is unsettling. The long hair suggests a strange allure or wildness, while the lion-like teeth indicate tearing, relentless ferocity. The mixture signals that these beings are not bound by ordinary categories; they are both arresting and horrifying. The portrait alerts us to deceptive appearance—what seems attractive or mesmerizing carries a deadly bite. John’s point is not to feed curiosity but to impress upon the reader the fearsome nature of demonic affliction: it ensnares and devours. The overall effect is to make clear that this is no earthly army but an abyssal one.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and they had hair as hair of women, and their teeth were as <FI>those<Fi> of lions,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And they had hair as the hair of women: and their teeth were as lions.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,

Context

Continuing the detailed description from verse 7, this verse adds contrasting traits to deepen the horror. It contributes to the pattern of composite imagery that resists literal simplification but communicates real danger. The next verse (9) will stress armor and the deafening sound of movement, heightening the sense of a war machine in full charge. By the time verse 10 returns to the scorpion-like tails, the reader is primed to expect both deception and devastation.

v.7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men’s faces.

v.8This passage

v.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 rushing to war.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Joel 1:6

    For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

  • 1 Peter 3:3

    Whoseadorninglet it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel;

  • 1 Corinthians 11:14

    Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonor to him?

  • Psalms 57:4

    My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.

  • Isaiah 3:24

    And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty.

  • 2 Kings 9:30

    And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window.

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