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.
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”.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- 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 26:6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Rev 9:1–2The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him.
- Eph 2:2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;
- John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- John 14:30I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
- 2 Cor 4:4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
- John 16:11about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged.
- John 12:31Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- 1 Jn 4:4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- Rev 12:9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down 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.