The Fifth Trumpet—the Bottomless Pit

9 Then the fifth angel sounded [his trumpet], and I saw a star (angelic being) that had fallen from heaven to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit (abyss) was given to him (the star-angel).^{(A) 2} He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke like the smoke of a great furnace flowed out of the pit; and the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the pit.^{(B) 3} Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power [to hurt] was given to them, like the power which the earth’s scorpions have.^{(C) 4} They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but [to hurt] only the people who do not have the seal (mark of ownership, protection) of God on their foreheads.^{(D) 5} They were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment and cause them extreme pain for five months; and their torment was like the torment from a scorpion when it stings a man. ⁶ And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die [to escape the pain], but [will discover that] death evades them.^(E)

⁷ The locusts resembled horses prepared and equipped for battle; and on their heads appeared to be [something like] golden crowns, and their faces resembled human faces.^{(F) 8} They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.^{(G) 9} They had breastplates (scales) like breastplates made of iron; and the [whirring] noise of their wings was like the [thunderous] noise of countless horse-drawn chariots charging [at full speed] into battle.^{(H) 10} They have tails like scorpions, and stingers; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months.^{(I) 11} They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss (the bottomless pit); in Hebrew his name is Abaddon (destruction), and in Greek he is called Apollyon (destroyer-king).

¹² The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.