The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

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

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

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. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God(G) from the angel’s hand. 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

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

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)

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) 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!”

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) 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) And out of the smoke locusts(AJ) came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions(AK) of the earth. 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) 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. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.(AQ)

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) Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.(AT) 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.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is a bitter substance.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth(A) during the reigns of Jotham,(B) Ahaz(C) and Hezekiah,(D) kings of Judah(E)—the vision(F) he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear,(G) you peoples, all of you,(H)
    listen, earth(I) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(J) against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.(K)

Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling(L) place;
    he comes down(M) and treads on the heights of the earth.(N)
The mountains melt(O) beneath him(P)
    and the valleys split apart,(Q)
like wax before the fire,
    like water rushing down a slope.
All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
    because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
    Is it not Samaria?(R)
What is Judah’s high place?
    Is it not Jerusalem?

“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(S)
I will pour her stones(T) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(U)
All her idols(V) will be broken to pieces;(W)
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.(X)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(Y)
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(Z) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(AA) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.
For Samaria’s plague(AB) is incurable;(AC)
    it has spread to Judah.(AD)
It has reached the very gate(AE) of my people,
    even to Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath[a];
    weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah[b]
    roll in the dust.
11 Pass by naked(AF) and in shame,
    you who live in Shaphir.[c]
Those who live in Zaanan[d]
    will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
    it no longer protects you.
12 Those who live in Maroth[e] writhe in pain,
    waiting for relief,(AG)
because disaster(AH) has come from the Lord,
    even to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,(AI)
    harness fast horses to the chariot.
You are where the sin of Daughter Zion(AJ) began,
    for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts(AK)
    to Moresheth(AL) Gath.
The town of Akzib[f](AM) will prove deceptive(AN)
    to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
    who live in Mareshah.[g](AO)
The nobles of Israel
    will flee to Adullam.(AP)
16 Shave(AQ) your head in mourning
    for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
    for they will go from you into exile.(AR)

Human Plans and God’s Plans

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
    to those who plot evil(AS) on their beds!(AT)
At morning’s light they carry it out
    because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields(AU) and seize them,(AV)
    and houses, and take them.
They defraud(AW) people of their homes,
    they rob them of their inheritance.(AX)

Therefore, the Lord says:

“I am planning disaster(AY) against this people,
    from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,(AZ)
    for it will be a time of calamity.
In that day people will ridicule you;
    they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;(BA)
    my people’s possession is divided up.(BB)
He takes it from me!
    He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord
    to divide the land(BC) by lot.(BD)

False Prophets

“Do not prophesy,” their prophets say.
    “Do not prophesy about these things;
    disgrace(BE) will not overtake us.(BF)
You descendants of Jacob, should it be said,
    “Does the Lord become[h] impatient?
    Does he do such things?”

“Do not my words do good(BG)
    to the one whose ways are upright?(BH)
Lately my people have risen up
    like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe
    from those who pass by without a care,
    like men returning from battle.
You drive the women of my people
    from their pleasant homes.(BI)
You take away my blessing
    from their children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
    For this is not your resting place,(BJ)
because it is defiled,(BK)
    it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver(BL) comes and says,
    ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’(BM)
    that would be just the prophet for this people!(BN)

Deliverance Promised

12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
    I will surely bring together the remnant(BO) of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture;
    the place will throng with people.(BP)
13 The One who breaks open the way will go up before(BQ) them;
    they will break through the gate(BR) and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
    the Lord at their head.”

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders(BS) of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
    you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
    and the flesh from their bones;(BT)
who eat my people’s flesh,(BU)
    strip off their skin
    and break their bones in pieces;(BV)
who chop(BW) them up like meat for the pan,
    like flesh for the pot?(BX)

Then they will cry out to the Lord,
    but he will not answer them.(BY)
At that time he will hide his face(BZ) from them
    because of the evil they have done.(CA)

This is what the Lord says:

“As for the prophets
    who lead my people astray,(CB)
they proclaim ‘peace’(CC)
    if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
    who refuses to feed them.
Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
    and darkness, without divination.(CD)
The sun will set for the prophets,(CE)
    and the day will go dark for them.(CF)
The seers will be ashamed(CG)
    and the diviners disgraced.(CH)
They will all cover(CI) their faces(CJ)
    because there is no answer from God.(CK)
But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
    to Israel his sin.(CL)

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;(CM)
10 who build(CN) Zion with bloodshed,(CO)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.(CP)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(CQ)
    her priests teach for a price,(CR)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(CS)
Yet they look(CT) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(CU)
12 Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(CV)
    the temple(CW) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(CX)

Footnotes

  1. Micah 1:10 Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.
  2. Micah 1:10 Beth Ophrah means house of dust.
  3. Micah 1:11 Shaphir means pleasant.
  4. Micah 1:11 Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.
  5. Micah 1:12 Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.
  6. Micah 1:14 Akzib means deception.
  7. Micah 1:15 Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.
  8. Micah 2:7 Or Is the Spirit of the Lord

The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?

Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

10 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing.

12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem.

13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.

15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.

16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.

Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.

Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?

Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.

The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.

And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.

Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.

12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.