³ And out of the smoke locusts^(A) came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions^(B) of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm^(C) the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,^(D) but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.^{(E) 5} They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months.^(F) And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion^(G) when it strikes. ⁶ During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.^(H)

⁷ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle.^(I) On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.^{(J) 8} Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.^{(K) 9} They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.^{(L) 10} They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.^{(M) 11} They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss,^(N) whose name in Hebrew^(O) is Abaddon^(P) and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons

1 In the days when the judges ruled,^[a](A) there was a famine in the land.^(B) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,^(C) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while^(D) in the country of Moab.^(E)

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.^(A) Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.^(B)

Hezekiah’s Pride, Success and Death^(A)

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.^(B)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(A)(B)

32 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib^(C) king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.