The Vision of the Fifth Trumpet

9 When the fifth angel blew his trumpet, I saw a star that had fallen to earth^[a] from the sky.^[b] The star^[c] was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.^{[d] 2} It opened the shaft of the bottomless pit,^[e] and smoke came out of the shaft like the smoke from a large furnace. The sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³ Locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and they were given power like that of earthly scorpions. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant, or any tree. They could harm^[f] only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were not allowed to kill them, but were only allowed^[g] to torture them for five months. Their torture was like the pain of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ In those days people will seek death, but never find it. They will long to die, but death will escape them.

⁷ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were victor’s crowns that looked like gold, and their faces were like human faces. ⁸ They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like lions’ teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates like iron, and the noise of their wings was like the roar of chariots with many horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails and stingers like scorpions, and they had the power to hurt people with their tails for five months. ¹¹ They had the angel of the bottomless pit^[h] ruling over them as king. In Hebrew he is called Abaddon,^[i] and in Greek he is called Apollyon.^[j]

¹² The first catastrophe is over. After these things, there are still two more catastrophes to come.