Revelation 9:21

New Testament Apocalyptic ASV (1901)

What does Revelation 9:21 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 9:21 — American Standard Version

Context — Revelation 9

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
21and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Neither repented they of their murders, etc.] Of the saints and martyrs of Jesus, with whose blood the western antichrist is made drunk, and which will be found in her, and for which she is answerable. Now, though the western parts of the empire escaped the scourge of the Turks, yet this did not bring them to repent of their murderous practices, but they went on to take away the lives of godly men; witness the persecutions of the Waldenses and Albigenses, the murders of John Huss and Jerom of Prague, the burning of the martyrs here in Queen Mary's days, and the massacres in Paris and in Ireland, and their butcheries elsewhere; and which they have continued unto this day, where the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“sorceries--witchcrafts by means of drugs (so the Greek). One of the fruits of the unrenewed flesh: the sin of the heathen: about to be repeated by apostate Christians in the last days, Rev 22:15, "sorcerers." The heathen who shall have rejected the proffered Gospel and clung to their fleshly lusts, and apostate Christians who shall have relapsed into the same shall share the same terrible judgments. The worship of images was established in the East in A.D. 842. fornication--singular: whereas the other sins are in the plural. Other sins are perpetrated at intervals: those lacking purity of heart indulge in one perpetual fornication [BENGEL]. Next: Revelation Chapter 10”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues ... - One third part is represented as swept off, and it might have been expected that a salutary effect would have been produced on the remainder, in reforming them, and restraining them from error and sin. The writer proceeds to state, however, that these judgments did not have the effect which might reasonably have been anticipated. No reformation followed; there was no abandonment of the prevailing forms of iniquity; there was no change in their idolatry and superstition. In regard to the exact meaning of what is here stated Revelation 9:20-21, it will be a more convenient arrangement to consider it after we have ascertained…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“their murders: Rev 11:7-9, Rev 13:7, Rev 13:15, Rev 16:6, Rev 18:24; Dan 7:21-25, Dan 11:33 their sorceries: Rev 13:13, Rev 18:23, Rev 21:8, Rev 22:15; Isa 47:9, Isa 47:12, Isa 57:3; Mal 3:5 nor of their fornication: Rev 14:8, Rev 17:2, Rev 17:5, Rev 18:3, Rev 19:2; Mat 15:19; Co2 12:21 Next: Revelation Chapter 10”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification