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The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a[a] burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who don’t have God’s seal on their foreheads. They were given power, not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a person. In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them. The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people’s faces. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. They had breastplates, like breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, or of many horses rushing to war. 10 They have tails like those of scorpions, and stings. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months. 11 They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”,[b] but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.[c] 12 The first woe is past. Behold, there are still two woes coming after this.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:2 TR adds “great”
  2. 9:11 “Abaddon” is a Hebrew word that means “ruin”, “destruction”, or “the place of destruction”
  3. 9:11 “Apollyon” means “Destroyer”.

Tormenting Locusts from the Abyss

And the fifth angel blew the trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the shaft of the abyss was given to him. And he opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke went up from the shaft like smoke from a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. And out of the smoke locusts came to the earth, and power was given to them like the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was told to them that they should not damage the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, except those people who do not have the seal of God on their[a] foreheads. And it was granted to them that they should not kill them, but that they would be tormented five months, and their torment is like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person. And in those days people will seek death and will never find it, and they will long to die, and death will flee from them.

And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle, and on their heads were something like crowns similar in appearance to gold, and their faces were like men’s faces, and they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions, and they had breastplates like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots[b] running into battle. 10 And they have tails similar in appearance to scorpions, and stings, and their power to injure people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name[c] in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

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

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 9:4 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  2. Revelation 9:9 Literally “chariots of horses”
  3. Revelation 9:11 Literally “the name to him”