The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When he opened the seventh seal,^(A) there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

² And I saw the seven angels^(B) who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.^(C)

³ Another angel,^(D) who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people,^(E) on the golden altar^(F) in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God^(G) from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,^(H) and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder,^(I) rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.^(J)

The Trumpets

⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets^(K) prepared to sound them.

⁷ The first angel^(L) sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire^(M) mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third^(N) of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.^(O)

⁸ The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain,^(P) all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third^(Q) of the sea turned into blood,^{(R) 9} a third^(S) of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky^(T) on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water^(U)— ¹¹ the name of the star is Wormwood.^[a] A third^(V) of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.^(W)

¹² The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third^(X) of them turned dark.^(Y) A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.^(Z)

¹³ As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair^(AA) call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe^(AB) to the inhabitants of the earth,^(AC) because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

9 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.^(AD) The star was given the key^(AE) to the shaft of the Abyss.^{(AF) 2} When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.^(AG) The sun and sky were darkened^(AH) by the smoke from the Abyss.^{(AI) 3} And out of the smoke locusts^(AJ) came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions^(AK) of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm^(AL) the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,^(AM) but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.^{(AN) 5} They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months.^(AO) And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion^(AP) 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.^(AQ)

⁷ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle.^(AR) On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.^{(AS) 8} Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.^{(AT) 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.^{(AU) 10} They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.^{(AV) 11} They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss,^(AW) whose name in Hebrew^(AX) is Abaddon^(AY) and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

¹² The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.^(AZ)

¹³ The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns^(BA) of the golden altar that is before God.^{(BB) 14} It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels^(BC) who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”^{(BD) 15} And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released^(BE) to kill a third^(BF) of mankind.^{(BG) 16} The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.^(BH)

¹⁷ The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths^(BI) came fire, smoke and sulfur.^{(BJ) 18} A third^(BK) of mankind was killed^(BL) by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur^(BM) that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

²⁰ The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent^(BN) of the work of their hands;^(BO) they did not stop worshiping demons,^(BP) and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.^{(BQ) 21} Nor did they repent^(BR) of their murders, their magic arts,^(BS) their sexual immorality^(BT) or their thefts.