Revelation, 9

1. Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven onto the earth, and the angel was given the key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss.

1. And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit;

2. When he unlocked the shaft of the Abyss, smoke rose out of the Abyss like the smoke from a huge furnace so that the sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss,

2. he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.

3. and out of the smoke dropped locusts onto the earth: they were given the powers that scorpions have on the earth:

3. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth;

4. they were forbidden to harm any fields or crops or trees and told to attack only those people who were without God's seal on their foreheads.

4. they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads;

5. They were not to kill them, but to give them anguish for five months, and the anguish was to be the anguish of a scorpion's sting.

5. they were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion, when it stings a man.

6. When this happens, people will long for death and not find it anywhere; they will want to die and death will evade them.

6. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will fly from them.

7. These locusts looked like horses armoured for battle; they had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked human,

7. In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,

8. and their hair was like women's hair, and teeth like lion's teeth.

8. their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;

9. They had body-armour like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings sounded like the racket of chariots with many horses charging.

9. they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.

10. Their tails were like scorpions' tails, with stings, and with their tails they were able to torture people for five months.

10. They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power of hurting men for five months lies in their tails.

11. As their leader they had their emperor, the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon.

11. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abad'don, and in Greek he is called Apol'lyon.

12. That was the first of the disasters; there are still two more to come.

12. The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

13. The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice issuing from the four horns of the golden altar in God's presence.

13. Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God,

14. It spoke to the sixth angel with the trumpet, and said, 'Release the four angels that are chained up at the great river Euphrates.'

14. saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphra'tes."

15. These four angels had been ready for this hour of this day of this month of this year, and ready to destroy a third of the human race.

15. So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of mankind.

16. I learnt how many there were in their army: twice ten thousand times ten thousand mounted men.

16. The number of the troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.

17. In my vision I saw the horses, and the riders with their breastplates of flame colour, hyacinth-blue and sulphur-yellow; the horses had lions' heads, and fire, smoke and sulphur were coming from their mouths.

17. And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulphur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulphur issued from their mouths.

18. It was by these three plagues, the fire, the smoke and the sulphur coming from their mouths, that the one third of the human race was killed.

18. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulphur issuing from their mouths.

19. All the horses' power was in their mouths and their tails: their tails were like snakes, and had heads which inflicted wounds.

19. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with heads, and by means of them they wound.

20. But the rest of the human race, who escaped death by these plagues, refused either to abandon their own handiwork or to stop worshipping devils, the idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood that can neither see nor hear nor move.

20. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or walk;

21. Nor did they give up their murdering, or witchcraft, or fornication or stealing.

21. nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their immorality or their thefts.