Book of Common Prayer

The Fifth Trumpet. The First Woe

9 And the fifth angel trumpeted, and I saw a star from heaven having fallen to the earth. And the key of the shaft of the abyss was given to him. ² And he opened the shaft of the abyss. And smoke went-up from the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air was darkened by the smoke of the shaft. ³ And locusts came out of the smoke to the earth. And authority was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have authority. ⁴ And it was told to them that they shall not harm the grass of the land, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ And authority was given to them so that they might not kill them, but so that they will be tormented for five months. And their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a person. ⁶ And during those days the people will seek death, and will by no means find it; and they will desire to die, and death flees from them. ⁷ And the likenesses^[a] of the locusts were like horses having been prepared for battle. And on their heads were something like crowns resembling gold. And their faces were like faces of people^[b]. ⁸ And they had hair like the hair of women^[c]. And their teeth were like ones of lions. ⁹ And they had breastplates like iron breastplates. And the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses running into battle. ¹⁰ And they have tails like scorpions, and stingers. And their authority to harm people for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have a king over them: the angel of the abyss. The name for him in Hebrew is Abaddon^[d]. And in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹² The first woe passed-away. Behold— two woes are still coming after these things.

What Shall I Do To Inherit Life? Love God And Your Neighbor. Who Is My Neighbor?

²⁵ And behold— a certain Law-expert stood up, putting Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, [by] having done what shall I inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And the One said to him, “What has been written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And the one, having responded, said, “You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole strength, and with your whole mind, and your neighbor as yourself ”. ²⁸ And He said to him, “You answered correctly. Be doing this and you will live”. ²⁹ But the one, wanting to vindicate^[a] himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Parable of The Good Samaritan: Be a Neighbor To Everyone

³⁰ Having taken-up the question, Jesus said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. And he fell-into^[b] robbers, who, both having stripped him and having laid-on blows, went away— having left him half-dead. ³¹ And by coincidence, a certain priest was going down on that road. And having seen him, he passed-by-on-the-other-side. ³² And likewise also a Levite having come-to-be upon the place, having come and having seen, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a certain Samaritan, while traveling, came upon him. And having seen, he felt-deep-feelings [of compassion]. ³⁴ And having gone to him, he bound his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And having put him on his own mount, he brought him to an inn and took-care-of him. ³⁵ And on the next day, having taken out two denarii^[c], he gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take-care-of him. And whatever thing you spend-further I will give-back to you during my returning’. ³⁶ Which of these three seems to you to have become^[d] a neighbor of the one having fallen into the robbers?” ³⁷ And the one said, “The one having shown mercy to him”. And Jesus said to him, “Go, and you be doing likewise”.