And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and (A)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given (B)the key to the shaft of (C)the bottomless pit.[a] He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft (D)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and (E)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came (F)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told (G)not to harm (H)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have (I)the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them (J)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days (K)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

(L)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: (M)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were (N)like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and (O)their teeth like lions' teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was (P)like the noise of many chariots with (Q)horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people (R)for five months is in their tails. 11 They have (S)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is (T)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.[b]

12 (U)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from (V)the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release (W)the four angels who are bound at (X)the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released (Y)to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of (Z)mounted troops was (AA)twice ten thousand times ten thousand; (AB)I heard their number. 17 And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire[c] and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were (AC)like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming 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 with heads, and by means of them they wound.

20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, (AD)did not repent of (AE)the works of their hands nor give up worshiping (AF)demons (AG)and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their (AH)sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 9:1 Greek the abyss; also verses 2, 11
  2. Revelation 9:11 Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer
  3. Revelation 9:17 Greek hyacinth

And the malach hachamishi (fifth angel) sounded his shofar; and I saw a kokhav (star) having fallen out of Shomayim to ha’aretz. And was given to it the mafte’ach (key) of the shaft of the Tehom (Abyss).

And he opened the shaft of the Tehom (Abyss), and smoke came up out of the shaft as smoke of a great furnace, and the shemesh (sun) was darkened and the air was darkened by the smoke of the shaft. [BERESHIS 19:28; SHEMOT 19:18; YOEL 2:2,10]

And out of the smoke came forth arbeh (locusts) to ha’aretz (the earth), and samchut (authority) was given to them like the samchut of the akrabei ha’aretz (scorpions of the earth). [SHEMOT 10:12-15]

And it was told them that they should not harm the grass of ha’aretz (the earth) nor any greenery nor any etz (tree), except the Bnei Adam, all who do not have the chotam (seal) of Hashem on their metsakhim (foreheads) (YECHEZKEL 9:4).

And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they will be tormented chamishah chodashim (five months). Their torment is as the torment of an akrav when it stings a man.

And in those days Bnei Adam will seek Mavet (Death) and by no means will find it. And they will desire to die and Mavet flees from them. [IYOV 3:21; 7:15; YIRMEYAH 8:3]

And the appearances of the arbeh (locusts) were like susim (horses) having been prepared for milchamah (war), and on the heads of them what looked like atarot (diadems) of zahav (gold) and the faces were like the faces of Bnei Adam. [YOEL 2:4;DANIEL 7:8]

And they had hair that looked like the hair of an isha (a woman), and they had teeth that looked like the teeth of an aryeh (lion), [YOEL 1:6]

and they had breastplates like iron breastplates and the sound of the wings of them was as the sound of many merkavot (chariots) with susim (horses) racing into the sadeh krav (battlefield), [YOEL 2:5]

10 And they have tails like akrabim (scorpions), with stingers, and the ko’ach (power) of them is in their tails to harm Bnei Adam chamishah chodashim (five months).

11 They have over them a melech (king), the malach (angel) of the Tehom (Abyss), the name for him in Ivrit, "Abaddon," (that is, Destruction) and in Elliniki he has the name Apollyon (that is, "Destroyer"). [IYOV 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; TEHILLIM 88:11]

12 The Oy Echad (the First Woe) has passed. Hinei, yet comes two more woes after these things.

13 And the malach hashishi (the sixth angel) sounded his shofar. And I heard kol echad (one voice) from the four horns of the golden Mizbe’ach (altar) before Hashem, [SHEMOT 30:1-3]

14 saying to the malach hashishi, the one having the shofar, Release the arba’at hamalachim (the four angels) having been bound at the great river, Euphrates. [BERESHIS 15:18; DEVARIM 1:7; YEHOSHUA 1:4; YESHAYAH 11:15]

15 And the arba’at hamalachim (four angels) were released, having been prepared for the sha’ah (hour) and the yom (day) and chodesh (month) and shanah (year), that they should kill a third of Bnei Adam.

16 And the mispar (number) of tziveot haparashim (troops of cavalrymen) were twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the mispar of them.

17 And thus I saw the susim (horses) in my chazon (vision, revelation, prophecy) and the riders on them, having breastplates fiery red and hyacinth blue and sulfur yellow, and the heads of the susim like heads of arayot (lions), and from the mouths of them goes forth eish (fire) and smoke and gofrit (sulfur). [TEHILLIM 11:6; YESHAYAH 30:33; YECHEZKEL 38:22]

18 From these shlosh hamakkot (three plagues T.N. this word makkah, makkot [pl.] comes from the Pesach Haggadah `eser makkot’ or ten plagues, and is a key word from here on in the book of Revelation, showing the endtime plagues of the Brit Chadasha Exodus of the Geulah Redemption) were killed a third of Bnei Adam, by the eish (fire) and the smoke and the gofrit (sulfur) coming out of the mouth of them.

19 For the ko’ach (power) of the susim (horses) is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like nechashim (serpents), having heads, and with them they inflict harm.

20 And the rest of the Bnei Adam, the ones not killed by these makkot (plagues), did not make teshuva and turn from the ma’asim (deeds) of their hands or forsake worship of shedim (demons) and the itztzavim (idols, images, tzelamim), those of gold and of silver and of bronze and of stone and of wood, which neither are able to see nor to hear nor to walk. [DEVARIM 4:28; 31:29; YIRMEYAH 1:16; MICHOH 5:13]

21 And they did not make teshuva (repentance, turning from sin to G-d) of the retzichot (murders) of them nor of the kishufim (sorceries) of them nor of the zenunim (fornication) of them nor of the gneyvot (thefts) of them. [YESHAYAH 47:9,12]