The Seventh Seal

8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence^(A) in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God;^(B) seven trumpets were given to them.^{(C) 3} Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne.^{(D) 4} The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar,^(E) and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.^(F)

The Seven Trumpets

⁶ And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The First Trumpet

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth.^(G) So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.^(H)

The Second Trumpet

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea.^(I) So a third of the sea became blood,^{(J) 9} a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The Third Trumpet

¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven.^(K) It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood,^(L) and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

The Fourth Trumpet

¹² The fourth angel blew 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 of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light and also a third of the night.^(M)

¹³ I looked and heard an eagle^[a] flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe!^(N) Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”

The Fifth Trumpet

9 The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth.^(O) The key for the shaft to the abyss^(P) was given to him. ² He opened the shaft to the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great^[b] furnace^(Q) so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft.^{(R) 3} Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth,^(S) and power^[c] was given to them^(T) like the power that scorpions have on the earth.^{(U) 4} They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree,^(V) but only those people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads.^{(W) 5} They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.^(X)

⁷ The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle.^(Y) Something like golden crowns was on their heads; their faces were like human faces; ⁸ they had hair like women’s hair; their teeth were like lions’ teeth;^{(Z) 9} they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots with horses rushing into battle; ¹⁰ and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power to harm people for five months. ¹¹ They had as their king^[d] the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon,^[e](AA) and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.^[f]

¹² The first woe has passed. There are still two more woes to come after this.^(AB)

The Sixth Trumpet

¹³ The sixth angel blew his trumpet. From the four^[g] horns of the golden altar^(AC) that is before God, I heard a voice ¹⁴ say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels^(AD) bound at the great river Euphrates.”^{(AE) 15} So the four angels who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year^(AF) were released to kill a third^(AG) of the human race. ¹⁶ The number of mounted troops was two hundred million;^[h] I heard their number. ¹⁷ This is how I saw the horses and their riders in the vision: They had breastplates that were fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur.^{(AH) 18} A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues—by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails, which resemble snakes, have heads that inflict injury.

²⁰ The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands^(AI) to stop worshiping demons^(AJ) and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood,^(AK) which cannot see, hear, or walk.^{(AL) 21} And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.

The First Bowl

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels,^(A) “Go and pour out the seven^[a] bowls^(B) of God’s wrath on the earth.” ² The first went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and severely painful sores^(C) broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.

The Second Bowl

³ The second^[b] poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like that of a dead person, and all life in the sea died.^(D)

The Third Bowl

⁴ The third^[c] poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.^{(E) 5} I heard the angel of the waters say,

⁷ I heard the altar say,

The Fourth Bowl

⁸ The fourth^[d] poured out his bowl on the sun. It was allowed to scorch people with fire, ⁹ and people were scorched by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God,^(K) who has the power^[e] over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.^(L)

The Fifth Bowl

¹⁰ The fifth^[f] poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast,^(M) and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.^(N) People^[g] gnawed their tongues because of their pain ¹¹ and blasphemed the God of heaven^(O) because of their pains and their sores, but they did not repent of their works.

The Sixth Bowl

¹² The sixth^[h] poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,^(P) and its water was dried up^(Q) to prepare the way for the kings from the east. ¹³ Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs^(R) coming from the dragon’s mouth,^(S) from the beast’s mouth,^(T) and from the mouth of the false prophet.^{(U) 14} For they are demonic spirits performing signs,^(V) who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble them^(W) for the battle on the great day of God, the Almighty.^{(X) 15} “Look, I am coming like a thief. Blessed^(Y) is the one who is alert and remains clothed^[i](Z) so that he may not go around naked and people see his shame.”^{(AA) 16} So they assembled the kings at the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.^[j](AB)

The Seventh Bowl

¹⁷ Then the seventh^[k] poured out his bowl into the air,^[l] and a loud voice came out of the temple^[m](AC) from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸ There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. And a severe earthquake occurred like no other since people have been on the earth, so great was the quake.^{(AD) 19} The great city^(AE) split into three parts, and the cities of the nations^[n] fell. Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s presence; he gave her the cup filled with the wine of his fierce anger.^{(AF) 20} Every island fled, and the mountains disappeared.^{(AG) 21} Enormous hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,^[o] fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God^(AH) for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe.^(AI)