Revelation 9:19

Contemporary English Version

The horses had powerful mouths, and their tails were like poisonous snakes that bite and hurt.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails, which resemble snakes, have heads that inflict injury.

King James Version (1611)
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tailes: for their tailes were like vnto serpents, and had heads, and with them they doe hurt.

King James Version
For 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.

New American Standard Bible
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

New Century Version
The horses' power was in their mouths and in their tails; their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they hurt people.

English Standard Version
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

Berean Standard Bible
For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

Complete Jewish Bible
For the power of the horses was in their mouths — and also in their tails, for their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they could cause injury.

Darby Translation
For the power of the horses is in their mouth and in their tails: for their tails [are] like serpents, having heads, and with them they injure.

Easy-to-Read Version
The horses' power was in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails were like snakes that have heads to bite and hurt people.

Geneva Bible (1587)
For their power is in their mouths, and in their tailes: for their tailes were like vnto serpents, and had heades, wherewith they hurt.

George Lamsa Translation
For the power of the horses was in their mouths, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents and had heads, and with them they do harm.

Good News Translation
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails are like snakes with heads, and they use them to hurt people.

Lexham English Bible
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are similar in appearance to snakes, having heads, and with them they cause injury.

Literal Translation
For their authority is in their mouth, and in their tails; for their tails are like snakes, having heads, and they do harm with them.

Amplified Bible
For the power of the horses [to do harm] is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and it is with them that they do harm.

American Standard Version
For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt.

Bible in Basic English
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails: because their tails are like snakes, and have heads, and with them they give wounds.

Hebrew Names Version
For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they harm.

International Standard Version
For the power of these horses is in their mouths and their tails. Their tails have heads like snakes, which they use to inflict pain.Isaiah 9:15;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
For the power of the horses is in their mouth and in their tails: for their tails were like serpents which had heads, and with them they wound.

Murdock Translation
For the power of the horses was in; their mouth, and in their tails; for their tails were like serpents, having heads to strike with.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For their power was in their mouthes, & in their tayles: for their tayles were lyke vnto serpentes, and had heades, & with them they dyd hurt.

English Revised Version
For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they do hurt.

World English Bible
For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they harm.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads, and with them they do hurt.

Weymouth's New Testament
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails being like serpents, and having heads, and it is with them that they inflict injury.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For the power of the horsis is in the mouth of hem, and in the tailis of hem; for the tailis of hem ben lyk to serpentis, hauynge heedis, and in hem thei noyen.

Update Bible Version
For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt.

Webster's Bible Translation
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails [were] like to serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

New English Translation
For the power of the horses resides in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes, having heads that inflict injuries.

New King James Version
For their power [fn] is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

New Living Translation
Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.

New Life Bible
The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like the heads of snakes and with them they could bite and kill.

New Revised Standard
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they inflict harm.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
for, the licence of the horses, is, in their mouth, and in their tails, for, their tails, are like unto serpents, having heads, and, with them, they injure.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For, their tails are like to serpents and have heads: and with them they hurt.

Revised Standard Version
For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with heads, and by means of them they wound.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For their power was in their mouthes and in their tayles: for their tayles were lyke vnto serpetes and had heedes and with them they dyd hurt:

Young's Literal Translation
for their authorities are in their mouth, and in their tails, for their tails [are] like serpents, having heads, and with them they do injure;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For their power was in their mouthes and in their tayles: for their tayles were like vnto serpetes, and had heades, and with the they dyd hurt:

Mace New Testament (1729)
for the power of these horses is in their mouths, and in their tails: for their tails were like serpents, and had heads, with which they do mischief.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The horse's strength wasn't confined to their mouth. They had tails like venomous vipers that struck and killed with deadly quickness and precision.

Contextual Overview

¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a voice speak from the four corners of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. ¹⁴ The voice spoke to this angel and said, "Release the four angels who are tied up beside the great Euphrates River." ¹⁵ The four angels had been prepared for this very hour and day and month and year. Now they were set free to kill a third of all people. ¹⁶ By listening, I could tell there were more than two hundred million of these war horses. ¹⁷ In my vision their riders wore fiery-red, dark-blue, and yellow armor on their chests. The heads of the horses looked like lions, with fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁸ One-third of all people were killed by the three terrible troubles caused by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur. ¹⁹ The horses had powerful mouths, and their tails were like poisonous snakes that bite and hurt. ²⁰ The people who lived through these terrible troubles did not turn away from the idols they had made, and they did not stop worshiping demons. They kept on worshiping idols that were made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. Not one of these idols could see, hear, or walk. ²¹ No one stopped murdering or practicing witchcraft or being immoral or stealing.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in their tails: Revelation 9:10, Isaiah 9:15, Ephesians 4:14

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 8:17 - I will Revelation 12:4 - his tail

Cross-References

Genesis 5:32
After Noah was five hundred years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 8:17
Let out the birds, animals, and reptiles, so they can mate and live all over the earth."

Genesis 9:2
All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control,

Genesis 9:4
But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it.

Genesis 9:28
Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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, pernicious:

and had heads; every tail had a head to it; which may be understood of the officers of the foot soldiers, or of the priests and teachers of the Mahometan religion:

and with them they do hurt; with their guns, the power in their mouth, they did hurt to the bodies of men; and with their false doctrines, their tails, they did hurt to the souls of men; the Ethiopic version here adds, "five months"; which seems to be taken from Revelation 9:10.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For their power is in their mouth - That is, as described in the fire, smoke, and brimstone that proceeded out of their mouths. What struck the seer as remarkable on looking on the symbol was, that this immense destruction seemed to proceed out of their mouths. It was not that they trampled down their enemies; nor that they destroyed them with the sword, the bow, or the spear: it was some new and remarkable power in warfare - in which the destruction seemed to proceed from fire, and smoke, and sulphur issuing from the mouths of the horses themselves.

And in their tails - The tails of the horses. This, of course, was something unusual and remarkable in horses, for naturally they have no power there. The power of a fish, or a scorpion, or a wasp, may be said to be in their tails, for their strength or their means of defense or of injury are there; but we never think of speaking in this way of horses. It is not necessary, in the interpretation of this, to suppose that the reference is literally to the tails of the horses, anymore than it is to suppose that the smoke, and fire, and brimstone literally proceeded from their mouths. John describes things as they appeared to him in looking at them from a considerable distance. From their mouths the horses belched forth fire, and smoke, and sulphur, and even their tails seemed to be armed for the work of death.

For their tails were like unto serpents - Not like the tails of serpents, but like serpents themselves.

And had heads - That is, there was something remarkable in the position and appearance of their heads. All serpents, of course, have heads; but John saw something unusual in this - or something so unique in their heads as to attract special attention. It would seem most probable that the heads of these serpents appeared to extend in every direction - as if the hairs of the horses’ tails had been converted into snakes, presenting a most fearful and destructive image. Perhaps it may illustrate this to suppose that there is reference to the Amphisbaena, or two-headed snake. It is said of this reptile that its tail resembles a head, and that with this it throws out its poison (Lucan, vol. ix. p. 179; Pliny’s Hist. Nat. vol. viii. p. 35). It really has but one head, but its tail has the appearance of a head, and it has the power of moving in either direction to a limited degree. If we suppose these snakes fastened to the tail of a horse, the appearance of heads would be very prominent and remarkable. The image is that of the power of destruction. They seemed like ugly and poisonous serpents instead of tails.

And with them they do hurt - Not the main injury, but they have the power of inflicting some injury by them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 9:19. 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.