Revelation 9
Good News Translation
9 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet. I saw a star which had fallen down to the earth, and it was given the key to the abyss.[a] 2 (A)The star opened the abyss, and smoke poured out of it, like the smoke from a large furnace; the sunlight and the air were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. 3 (B)Locusts came down out of the smoke upon the earth, and they were given the same kind of power that scorpions have. 4 (C)They were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other plant; they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God's seal on their foreheads. 5 The locusts were not allowed to kill these people, but only to torture them for five months. The pain caused by the torture is like the pain caused by a scorpion's sting. 6 (D)During those five months they will seek death, but will not find it; they will want to die, but death will flee from them.
7 (E)The locusts looked like horses ready for battle; on their heads they had what seemed to be crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces. 8 (F)Their hair was like women's hair, their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 (G)Their chests were covered with what looked like iron breastplates, and the sound made by their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like those of a scorpion, and it is with their tails that they have the power to hurt people for five months. 11 They have a king ruling over them, who is the angel in charge of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek the name is Apollyon (meaning “The Destroyer”).
12 The first horror is over; after this there are still two more horrors to come.
13 (H)Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a voice coming from the four corners of the gold altar standing before God. 14 The voice said to the sixth angel, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River!” 15 The four angels were released; for this very hour of this very day of this very month and year they had been kept ready to kill a third of all the human race. 16 I was told the number of the mounted troops: it was two hundred million. 17 (I)And in my vision I saw the horses and their riders: they had breastplates red as fire, blue as sapphire, and yellow as sulfur. The horses' heads were like lions' heads, and from their mouths came out fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 A third of the human race was killed by those three plagues: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur coming out of the horses' mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails are like snakes with heads, and they use them to hurt people.
20 (J)The rest of the human race, all those who had not been killed by these plagues, did not turn away from what they themselves had made. They did not stop worshiping demons, nor the idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic, their sexual immorality, or their stealing.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:1 The place in the depths of the earth where the demons were imprisoned until their final punishment.
Revelation 9
New American Standard Bible
The Fifth Trumpet: Shaft of the Abyss
9 Then the (A)fifth angel sounded, and I saw a (B)star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the (C)key to the (D)shaft of the abyss was given to him. 2 He opened the shaft of the abyss, and (E)smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and (F)the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft. 3 Then out of the smoke came (G)locusts [a]upon the earth, and power was given them, as the (H)scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told not to (I)hurt the (J)grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the (K)seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And [b]they were not permitted to kill [c]anyone, but to torment for (L)five months; and their torment was like the torment of a (M)scorpion when it [d]stings a person. 6 And in those days (N)people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death [e]will flee from them!
7 The [f](O)appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like human faces. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their (P)teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the (Q)sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10 They have tails like (R)scorpions, and stings; and in their (S)tails is their power to hurt people for (T)five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the (U)abyss; his name in (V)Hebrew is [g](W)Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name [h]Apollyon.
12 (X)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
The Sixth Trumpet: Army from the East
13 Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard [i]a voice from the [j]four (Y)horns of the (Z)golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the (AA)four angels who are bound at the (AB)great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were (AC)released, so that they would kill a (AD)third of mankind. 16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was (AE)two hundred million; (AF)I heard the number of them. 17 And this is how I saw (AG)in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of [k](AH)brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and (AI)out of their mouths *came fire and smoke and [l](AJ)brimstone. 18 A (AK)third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the (AL)fire, the smoke, and the [m]brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, (AM)did not repent of (AN)the works of their hands so as not to (AO)worship demons and (AP)the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they (AQ)did not repent of their murders, nor of their (AR)witchcraft, nor of their (AS)sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:3 Lit into
- Revelation 9:5 Lit it was given to them
- Revelation 9:5 Lit them
- Revelation 9:5 Lit strikes
- Revelation 9:6 Lit flees (intensive expression)
- Revelation 9:7 Lit likenesses
- Revelation 9:11 I.e., destruction
- Revelation 9:11 I.e., destroyer
- Revelation 9:13 Lit one voice
- Revelation 9:13 Two early mss do not contain four
- Revelation 9:17 I.e., burning sulfur
- Revelation 9:17 I.e., burning sulfur
- Revelation 9:18 I.e., burning sulfur
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
