Revelation 9
Common English Bible
The fifth and sixth trumpet plagues
9 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. 2 He opened the shaft of the abyss; and smoke rose up from the shaft, like smoke from a huge furnace. The sun and air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then locusts came forth from the smoke and onto the earth. They were given power like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree. They could only hurt the people who didn’t have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 The locusts weren’t allowed to kill them, but only to make them suffer for five months—and the suffering they inflict is like that of a scorpion when it strikes a person. 6 In those days people will seek death, but they won’t find it. They will want to die, but death will run away from them.
7 The locusts looked like horses ready for battle. On their heads were what seemed to be gold crowns. Their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 In front they had what seemed to be iron armor upon their chests, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots and horses racing into battle. 10 They also have tails with stingers, just like scorpions; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months. 11 Their king is an angel from the abyss, whose Hebrew name is Abaddon,[a] and whose Greek name is Apollyon.[b]
12 The first horror has passed. Look! Two horrors are still coming after this.
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the gold altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 Then the four angels who had been made ready for that hour, day, month, and year were released to kill a third of humankind. 16 The number of cavalry troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. 17 And this is the way I saw the horses and their riders in the vision: they had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The horses’ heads were like lions’ heads, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 By these three plagues a third of humankind was killed: by the fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 The horses’ power is in their mouths and their tails, for their tails are like snakes with heads that inflict injuries.
20 The rest of humankind, who weren’t killed by these plagues, didn’t change their hearts and lives and turn from their handiwork. They didn’t stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can’t see or hear or walk. 21 They didn’t turn away from their murders, their spells and drugs, their sexual immorality, or their stealing.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:11 Destruction
- Revelation 9:11 Destroyer
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
Revelation 9
King James Version
9 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 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.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 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.
Revelation 9
Expanded Bible
9 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fall from ·the sky [or heaven] to the earth. The star was given the key to the ·deep hole [shaft] ·that leads to the bottomless pit [L of the Abyss; C the place of the dead and/or a prison for fallen angels; Luke 8:31; Rom. 10:7]. 2 Then ·it [or he] opened up the ·hole that leads to the bottomless pit [shaft of the Abyss], and smoke came up from the ·hole [shaft] like smoke from a ·big [great; giant] furnace. Then the sun and ·sky [air] became dark because of the smoke from the ·hole [shaft]. 3 Then locusts came down to the earth out of the smoke [C similar to the eighth Egyptian plague; Ex. 10:1–20; see also Joel 1:2—2:10], and they were given the power ·to sting like [L like the power of] scorpions [L of the earth]. 4 They were told not to ·harm [damage] the grass on the earth or any ·plant [greenery] or tree. They could ·harm [damage] only the people who did not have the ·sign [seal] of God on their foreheads [7:3]. 5 These locusts were not ·given the power [permitted] to kill anyone, but to ·cause pain to [torture; torment] the people for five months [C perhaps referring to the limited life span of a locust]. And ·the pain they felt was like the pain a scorpion gives [L their torture/torment was like the torture/torment of a scorpion] when it stings someone. 6 During those days people will ·look for a way to die [L seek death], but they will not find it. They will ·want [long; desire] to die, but death will ·run away [flee] from them.
7 The locusts looked like horses ·prepared [equipped; trained] for battle [Joel 2:4]. On their heads they wore what looked like crowns of gold [C indicating their victory; 2:10], and their faces looked like human faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth [Joel 1:6]. 9 Their chests looked like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horses and chariots ·hurrying [charging; running] into battle [Joel 2:5]. 10 The locusts had tails with stingers like scorpions, and in their tails was their ·power [authority] to ·hurt [damage; harm] people for five months. 11 The locusts had a king who was the ·angel [or messenger] of the ·bottomless pit [L Abyss; 9:1]. His name in the Hebrew language is Abaddon and in the Greek language is Apollyon [C both mean “Destroyer”; perhaps a reference to Satan].
12 The first ·trouble [L woe] is past; there are still two other ·troubles [L woes] that will come [8:13].
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns [C some ancient manuscripts specify that there are four horns; protrusions on the four corners of the altar symbolizing God’s strength] on the golden altar [C the incense altar; Ex. 30:1–10] that is before God. 14 The voice said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “·Free [Release] the four angels who are ·tied [bound] at the great river Euphrates [7:1].” 15 And they ·let loose [released] the four angels who had been ·kept ready [prepared] for this hour and day and month and year so they could kill a third of ·all people on the earth [L humanity; mankind]. 16 I heard how many troops on horses were in their army—two hundred million.
17 The horses and their riders I saw in the vision looked like this: They had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue [L hyacinth-colored], and yellow like sulfur [brimstone]. The heads of the horses looked like heads of lions, with fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 18 A third of ·all the people on earth [humanity; mankind] were killed by these three ·terrible disasters [plagues] coming out of the horses’ mouths: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur. 19 The horses’ ·power [authority] was in their mouths and in their tails; their tails were like snakes with heads [12:9; Gen. 3:1–7], and with them they ·hurt [damaged; injured; wounded] people.
20 The ·other [rest of the] people who were not killed by these ·terrible disasters [plagues] still did not ·change their hearts and turn away from what they had made with their own hands [L repent from the works of their hands]. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—things that cannot see or hear or walk [Ps. 115:4–7; 135:17; Jer. 10:1–16]. 21 These people did not ·change their hearts and turn away from [repent of] murder or ·evil magic [sorcery], from their ·sexual sins [fornication] or stealing.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.