And 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”, but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.
- BSB They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.
- NKJV And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
- NASB They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
- NLT Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their king is the angel of the abyss, named Abaddon (Destroyer). The demonic horde is led by a being whose very name is destruction.
Overview
Unlike natural locusts, which have no king (Proverbs 30:27), this host is ruled by "the angel of the abyss." The names Abaddon (Hebrew, "destruction") and Apollyon (Greek, "destroyer") expose his nature and purpose. Whether this is Satan or a high demonic ruler, the point is that this army serves the cause of ruin. By contrast, Jesus came not to destroy but to save (John 10:10), and He will finally cast all such powers into the abyss (Revelation 20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 26:6Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
- Rev 9:1–2And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
- Eph 2:2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
- John 8:44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
- John 14:30Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
- 2 Cor 4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
- John 16:11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
- John 12:31Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
- 1 Jn 4:4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
- 1 Jn 5:19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
- Rev 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 9:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.