John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 6. And in those days men shall seek death , etc.] Or desire to die, as Job did: and shall not find it ; or shall not die: and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them ; death will be preferred to a miserable life; it will be chosen rather than life, ( Jeremiah 8:3). The ravages of the Saracens, their incursions, and the invasions by them, struck such terror into the inhabitants of divers parts of the empire, that they made death more eligible to them than life.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-12 - Upon sounding the fifth trumpet, a star fell from heaven to the earth Having ceased to be a minister of Christ, he who is represented by thi star becomes the minister of the devil; and lets loose the powers of hell against the churches of Christ. On the opening of the bottomles pit, there arose a great smoke. The devil carries on his designs be blinding the eyes of men, by putting out light and knowledge, an promoting ignorance and error. Out of this smoke there came a swarm of locusts, emblems of the devil's agents, who promote superstition idolatry, error, and cruelty. The trees and the grass, the tru believers, whether young or more advanced, should be untouched. But secret poison and infection in the soul, should rob many others of purity, and afterwards of peace. The locusts had no power to hurt thos who had the seal of God. God's all-powerful, distinguishing grace wil keep his people from total and final apostacy. The power is limited to a short season; but it would be very sharp. In such events the faithfu share the common calamity, but from the pestilence of error they migh and would be safe. We collect from Scripture, that such errors were to try and prove the Christians, 1Co 11:19. And early writers plainl refer this to the first great host of corrupters who overspread the Christian church.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ εν 1722 PREP ταις 3588 T-DPF ημεραις 2250 N-DPF εκειναις 1565 D-DPF ζητησουσιν 2212 5692 V-FAI-3P οι 3588 T-NPM ανθρωποι 444 N-NPM τον 3588 T-ASM θανατον 2288 N-ASM και 2532 CONJ ουχ 3756 PRT-N ευρησουσιν 2147 5692 V-FAI-3P αυτον 846 P-ASM και 2532 CONJ επιθυμησουσιν 1937 5692 V-FAI-3P αποθανειν 599 5629 V-2AAN και 2532 CONJ φευξεται 5343 5695 V-FDI-3S ο 3588 T-NSM θανατος 2288 N-NSM απ 575 PREP αυτων 846 P-GPM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
6. Men. Rather, the men: those tormented.Shall desire (epiqumhsousin). Epi has the force of vehemently, earnestly.
Shall flee (feuxetai). Read feugei fleeth. Aeschylus says: "Not justly do mortals hate death, since it is the greatest deliverance from their many woes" ("Fragment"). Herodotus relates the address of Artabanus to Xerxes, when the latter wept on beholding his vast armament. "There is no man, whether it be here among this multitude or elsewhere, who is so happy as not to have felt the wish - I will not say once, but full many a time - that he were dead rather than alive. Calamities fall upon us, sicknesses vex and harass us, and make life, short though it be, to appear long. So death, through the wretchedness of our life, is a most sweet refuge to our race" (7, 46).
