¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a ^(A)third of mankind.

¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.

First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

⁷ The first angel sounded: ^(A)And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown ^(B)to the ^[a]earth. And a third ^(C)of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

^9 (A)And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

^11 (A)The name of the star is Wormwood. ^(B)A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck

^12 (C)Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day ^[a]did not shine, and likewise the night.

¹⁰ They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.

⁵ And ^[a]they were not given authority to kill them, ^(A)but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.