Wahyu 9:7-10

9:7 Now ¹  the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On ²  their heads were something like crowns similar to gold, ³  and their faces looked like men’s ⁴  faces. 9:8 They ⁵  had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9:9 They had breastplates ⁶  like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. 9:10 They have ⁷  tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability ⁸  to injure people for five months is in their tails.

[9:7]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the locusts, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.

[9:7]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:7]  ³ tn The translation attempts to bring out the double uncertainty in this clause in the Greek text, involving both the form (ὡς στέφανοι, Jw" stefanoi, “like crowns”) and the material (ὅμοιοι χρυσῷ, {omoioi crusw, “similar to gold”).

[9:7]  ⁴ tn Or “human faces.” The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is often used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women. However, because “women’s hair” in the next clause suggests a possible gender distinction here, “men’s” was retained.

[9:8]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:9]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “scales like iron breastplates” (RSV, NRSV) although the Greek term θώραξ (qwrax) would have to shift its meaning within the clause, and elsewhere in biblical usage (e.g., Eph 6:14; 1 Thess 5:8) it normally means “breastplate.” See also L&N 8.38.

[9:10]  ⁷ tn In the Greek text there is a shift to the present tense here; the previous verbs translated “had” are imperfects.

[9:10]  ⁸ tn See BDAG 352 s.v. ἐξουσία 2, “potential or resource to command, control, or govern, capability, might, power.”