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They[a] were told[b] not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people[c] who did not have the seal of God on their[d] forehead. The locusts[e] were not given permission[f] to kill[g] them, but only to torture[h] them[i] for five months, and their torture was like that[j] of a scorpion when it stings a person.[k] In[l] those days people[m] will seek death, but[n] will not be able to[o] find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 9:4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  2. Revelation 9:4 tn The dative indirect object (αὐταῖς, autais) was converted into the subject (“they”) as this more closely approximates English usage. The following ἵ῞να (hina) is taken as substantival, introducing a direct object clause. In this case, because it is reported speech, the ἵνα is similar to the declarative ὅτι (hoti).
  3. Revelation 9:4 tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.
  4. Revelation 9:4 tn The article τῶν (tōn) has been translated as a possessive pronoun here (ExSyn 215).
  5. Revelation 9:5 tn Grk “It was not permitted to them”; the referent (the locusts) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Revelation 9:5 tn The word “permission” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  7. Revelation 9:5 tn The two ἵνα (hina) clauses of 9:5 are understood to be functioning as epexegetical or complementary clauses related to ἐδόθη (edothē).
  8. Revelation 9:5 tn On this term BDAG 168 s.v. βασανισμός states, “1. infliction of severe suffering or pain associated with torture or torment, tormenting, torture Rv 9:5b.—2. the severe pain experienced through torture, torment vs. 5a; 14:11; 18:10, 15; (w. πένθος) vs. 7.”
  9. Revelation 9:5 tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text but is picked up from the previous clause.
  10. Revelation 9:5 tn Grk “like the torture,” but this is redundant in contemporary English.
  11. Revelation 9:5 tn Grk “a man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in an individualized sense without being limited to the male gender.
  12. Revelation 9:6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  13. Revelation 9:6 tn Grk “men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here of both men and women.
  14. Revelation 9:6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
  15. Revelation 9:6 tn The phrase “not be able to” was used in the translation to emphasize the strong negation (οὐ μή, ou mē) in the Greek text.