Revelation 9
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 9
The Fifth Trumpet: the First Woe.[a] 1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. He was given the key to the shaft leading down to the abyss. 2 When he unlocked the shaft of the abyss, smoke rose up from the abyss like smoke from a huge furnace, so that the sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts dropped down onto the earth, and they were given the same powers that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were commanded not to damage the grass or the earth or any plant or tree, and they were told to attack only those people who did not have God’s seal on their foreheads.
5 They were given permission to torture these people for five months, but they were not allowed to kill them, and the torment they were to inflict was to be like that of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 During that time, these people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads they wore what appeared to be gold crowns. Their faces were like human faces, 8 and their hair was like women’s hair. Their teeth were like lions’ teeth, 9 and their chests were like iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was like the rumble of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
10 These locusts had tails and stings like those of scorpions, and in their tails they had the power to torment people for five months. 11 They had as their king the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed, but two more are still to come.
13 The Sixth Trumpet: the Second Woe.[b] Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice[c] emanating from the horns of the gold altar that stood in the presence of God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who was holding the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
15 And so the four angels, who had been held in readiness for this very hour, day, month, and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.[d] 16 The number of their cavalry troops was two hundred million. This was the number I heard.
17 This is how I saw the horses and their riders in my vision. The riders wore breastplates in shades of red, blue, and yellow. The heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and issuing forth from their mouths were fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 By these three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that poured forth from their mouths, a third of mankind was killed. 19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like serpents, with heads that inflicted harm.
20 However, the rest of mankind who survived these plagues did not repent of the work of their hands or cease their worship of demons[e] and of idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their sorcery, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:1 A fallen star, doubtless Satan himself, opens the door of the abyss, which is regarded as the prison in which the evil spirits are held while awaiting their final punishment. An army of strange locusts escapes (see the eighth and ninth plagues of Egypt—Ex 10:12-15, 21-23—as well as the invasion of locusts in Joel 1:4—2:10). These do not devour the harvest, as one would expect, but attack humans. It is an invasion of a fierce army, led by a satanic being, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, meaning perdition or ruin, and in Greek Apollyon, meaning destroyer. The writer has not resisted the enticing pleasure of giving this being a name that is a caricature of the great Greek god Apollo. Job 3:21 is cited in v. 6.
- Revelation 9:13 These ancient monsters seem to have had an appointment to meet on the banks of the Euphrates, to be then unleashed as a savage horde on the people. The visionary is undoubtedly thinking of the four corps of the military that invaded Judea from Syria for the second phase of the Jewish War in an expedition that was particularly destructive and murderous. The event was always supposed to be a sign that jump-started consciences. Alas, it merely leads to bewilderment and decomposition!
- Revelation 9:13 I heard a voice: to show that the punishment inflicted on the pagans was the result of the prayer of the martyrs, described in Rev 6:9-10.
- Revelation 9:15 For the day of the divine wrath, see Rev 6:17.
- Revelation 9:20 Demons: spiritual beings allied with Satan and wielding an evil influence on human beings (see Deut 4:28; Ps 115:5-7; 1 Cor 10:20).
Apocalipsis 9
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
La quinta trompeta
9 El quinto ángel tocó la trompeta(A), y vi una estrella que había caído del cielo(B) a la tierra, y se le dio la llave(C) del pozo del abismo(D). 2 Cuando abrió el pozo del abismo, subió humo(E) del pozo como el humo de un gran horno, y el sol y el aire(F) se oscurecieron por el humo del pozo. 3 Del humo salieron langostas sobre[a] la tierra(G), y se les dio poder como tienen poder[b] los escorpiones de la tierra(H).
4 Se les dijo que no dañaran(I) la hierba de la tierra(J), ni ninguna cosa verde, ni ningún árbol, sino solo a los hombres que no tienen el sello de Dios en la frente(K). 5 No se les permitió matar a nadie[c], sino atormentarlos por cinco meses(L). Su tormento era como el tormento de un escorpión cuando pica[d] al hombre(M). 6 En aquellos días los hombres buscarán la muerte y no la hallarán(N); y ansiarán morir, y la muerte huirá[e] de ellos.
7 El aspecto[f] de las langostas era semejante al de caballos dispuestos para la batalla(O), y sobre sus cabezas tenían como coronas que parecían de oro, y sus caras eran como rostros humanos. 8 Tenían cabellos como cabellos de mujer, y sus dientes eran como de leones(P). 9 También tenían corazas como corazas de hierro. El ruido de sus alas era como el estruendo de carros, de muchos caballos que se lanzan a la batalla(Q). 10 Tienen colas parecidas a escorpiones(R), y aguijones. En sus colas está su poder para hacer daño a los hombres(S) por cinco meses(T). 11 Tienen sobre ellos por rey al ángel del abismo(U), cuyo nombre en hebreo(V) es Abadón[g](W), y en griego se llama Apolión[h].
12 El primer ¡ay(X)! ha pasado; pero aún vienen dos ayes después de estas cosas.
La sexta trompeta
13 El sexto ángel tocó la trompeta, y oí una voz que salía de los cuatro[i] cuernos(Y) del altar de oro(Z) que está delante de Dios, 14 y decía al sexto ángel que tenía la trompeta: «Suelta a los cuatro ángeles(AA) que están atados junto al gran río Éufrates(AB)». 15 Y fueron desatados los cuatro ángeles que habían sido preparados para la hora, el día, el mes, y el año(AC), para matar a la tercera parte de la humanidad[j](AD).
16 El número de los ejércitos de los jinetes era doscientos millones(AE); yo escuché su número(AF). 17 Así es como vi[k] en la visión(AG) los caballos y a los que los montaban: los jinetes tenían corazas color de fuego, de jacinto[l] y de azufre(AH). Las cabezas de los caballos eran como cabezas de leones, y de sus bocas salía fuego(AI), humo, y azufre(AJ).
18 La tercera parte(AK) de la humanidad[m] fue muerta por estas tres plagas: por el fuego(AL), el humo, y el azufre que salían de sus bocas. 19 Porque el poder de los caballos está en su boca y en sus colas; pues sus colas son semejantes a serpientes, tienen cabezas y con ellas hacen daño.
20 El resto de la humanidad[n], los que no fueron muertos por estas plagas, no se arrepintieron(AM) de las obras de sus manos(AN) ni dejaron de[o] adorar a los demonios(AO) y a los ídolos de oro, de plata, de bronce, de piedra, y de madera, que no pueden ver ni oír ni andar(AP). 21 Tampoco se arrepintieron de sus homicidios(AQ) ni de sus hechicerías(AR) ni de su inmoralidad[p](AS) ni de sus robos.
Footnotes
- 9:3 Lit. hacia.
- 9:3 O como el poder que tienen.
- 9:5 Lit. Y se les concedió no matarlos.
- 9:5 Lit. hiere.
- 9:6 Lit. huye.
- 9:7 Lit. las apariencias.
- 9:11 I.e. Destrucción.
- 9:11 I.e. Destructor.
- 9:13 Algunos mss. antiguos no incluyen: cuatro.
- 9:15 Lit. los hombres.
- 9:17 Lit. así vi.
- 9:17 O zafiro.
- 9:18 Lit. los hombres.
- 9:20 Lit. los hombres.
- 9:20 Lit. para no.
- 9:21 O fornicación.
Revelation 9
New King James Version
Fifth Trumpet: The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit
9 Then the fifth angel sounded: (A)And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to (B)the [a]bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the (C)sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, (D)as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded (E)not to harm (F)the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have (G)the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And [b]they were not given authority to kill them, (H)but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days (I)men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7 (J)The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. (K)On their heads were crowns of something like gold, (L)and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women’s hair, and (M)their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was (N)like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them (O)the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is [c]Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name [d]Apollyon.
12 (P)One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.
Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates
13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the (Q)golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound (R)at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a (S)third of mankind. 16 Now (T)the number of the army (U)of the horsemen was two hundred million; (V)I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; (W)and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 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. 19 For [e]their power is in their mouth and in their tails; (X)for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, (Y)did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship (Z)demons, (AA)and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders (AB)or their [f]sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:1 Lit. shaft of the abyss
- Revelation 9:5 The locusts
- Revelation 9:11 Lit. Destruction
- Revelation 9:11 Lit. Destroyer
- Revelation 9:19 NU, M the power of the horses
- Revelation 9:21 NU, M drugs
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
