Revelation 9:20

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.
KJV
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
WEB
The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can’t see, hear, or walk.
ASV
And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk:
DARBY
And the rest of men who were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the golden and silver and brazen and stone and wooden idols, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
BLB
And the rest of the men who were not killed in these plagues did not even repent of the works of their hands so that they will not worship the demons and the golden and silver and bronze and stone and wooden idols, which are able neither to see nor to hear nor to walk.
ÅB
Og de andre mennesker, de som ikke ble drept i disse plager, omvendte seg ikke fra sine henders verk, så de lot være å tilbe de onde ånder og avgudsbildene av gull og av sølv og av kobber og av stein og av tre, de som hverken kan se eller høre eller gå;
OTB
Resten av menneskene, som ikke ble drept av disse plagene, omvendte seg ikke fra sine henders verk; de sluttet ikke å tilbe demoner, og avguder av gull, sølv, bronse, stein og tre, som ikke kan se, høre eller gå.
B1930
Og de andre mennesker, de som ikke blev drept i disse plager, omvendte sig ikke fra sine henders verk, så de lot være å tilbede de onde ånder og avgudsbilledene av gull og av sølv og av kobber og av sten og av tre, de som hverken kan se eller høre eller gå;

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Daniel 5:23

    But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

    Read in context
  • Deuteronomy 31:29

    For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

    Read in context
  • 1 Timothy 4:1

    Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

    Read in context
  • Romans 1:21–23

    Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

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  • Revelation 9:21

    Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 1:16

    And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

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  • Acts 19:26

    Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 10:14–15

    Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

    Read in context