The Fifth Trumpet—The Locusts From Hell

9 Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen out of heaven to the earth, and the key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. ² He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the pit like the smoke from a huge furnace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit. ³ And out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given the kind of power that scorpions of the earth have. ⁴ They were told not to harm the earth’s grass, any green plant, or any tree, but only those people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads.

⁵ Indeed, they were not given permission to kill these people but only to torture them for five months. And the pain they cause is like the pain caused by a scorpion when it stings a person. ⁶ In those days people will seek death but will certainly not find it. They will long to die, but death will escape them.

⁷ The locusts looked like horses ready for battle. On their heads were what appeared to be crowns that were like gold. Their faces looked like human faces. ⁸ They had hair that looked like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates that appeared to be made of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots and horses charging into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails with stingers like those of scorpions, and in their tails they had power to hurt people for five months.

¹¹ They have the angel of the abyss over them as their king. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.^[a]

¹² One woe is past. Look! After these things two more woes are coming.