Beginning

Tormenting Locusts from the Abyss

9 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. ² 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. ³ And out of the smoke locusts came to the earth, and power was given to them like the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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.

⁷ 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, ⁸ and they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions, ⁹ 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.

A Third of Humanity Killed by Plagues

¹³ And the sixth angel blew the trumpet, and I heard one voice from the horns^[d] of the golden altar that is before God ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel, the one who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who have been bound at the great river Euphrates!” ¹⁵ And the four angels who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year were released, in order that they should kill a third of humanity. ¹⁶ And the number of the troops of the cavalry was two hundred million^[e]; I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And in this way I saw the horses in the vision, and those seated on them, who had fiery red and hyacinth-colored and sulphurous yellow breastplates, and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and sulphur. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of humanity was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are similar in appearance to snakes, having heads, and with them they cause injury.^[f]

²⁰ And the rest of humanity who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, in order not to worship^[g] the demons and the gold and silver and bronze and stone and wooden idols, which are able neither to see nor to hear nor to walk, ²¹ and they did not repent of their murders or of their magic spells or of their sexual immorality or of their thefts.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 And I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, and a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire,^{[h] 2} and holding in his hand a little scroll that was opened. And he put his right foot on the sea and his^[i] left on the land. ³ And he cried out with a loud voice like a lion roars, and when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded^[j] their own voices. ⁴ And when the seven thunders spoke,^[k] I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders spoke, and do not write them!”

⁵ And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by the one who lives forever and ever^[l], who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, whenever he is about to blow the trumpet, then^[m] the mystery of God is completed, as he announced to his own slaves the prophets.”

⁸ And the voice that I had heard from heaven was speaking with me again and saying, “Go, take the opened scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ And I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, “Take and eat it up, and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it up, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth, and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And they said to me, “It is necessary for you to prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 And a measuring rod similar in appearance to a staff was given to me, saying, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. ² And leave out the courtyard outside of the temple, and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample the holy city for forty two months. ³ And I will grant authority^[n] to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, dressed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, in this way he must be killed. ⁶ These have the authority to shut the sky, so that it does not rain^[o] during the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over the waters, to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they wish.

⁷ And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is called symbolically Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ And those from peoples and tribes and languages and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and they will not allow their dead bodies to be placed in a tomb. ¹⁰ And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them, and will celebrate and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.

¹¹ And after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here,” and they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And at that hour a great earthquake took place, and a tenth of the city collapsed, and seven thousand people^[p] were killed by the earthquake, and the rest became terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴ The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly!

The Blowing of the Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵ And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying,

¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God fell down on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,

¹⁹ And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and sounds and thunders and an earthquake and large hail.^[s]

The Woman and Her Son Versus the Dragon

12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, ² and who was pregnant^[t] and was crying out because she^[u] was having birth pains, and was in torment to give birth. ³ And another sign appeared in heaven, and behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal headbands.^{[v] 4} And his tail swept away a third of the stars from heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, in order that whenever she gave birth to her child he could devour it. ⁵ And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod,^[w] and her child was snatched away to God and to his throne. ⁶ And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared there by God, so that they could feed her there for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

Satan Thrown Down from Heaven to Earth

⁷ And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against^[x] the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back^[y]. ⁸ And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

¹³ And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ And the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she could fly into the wilderness, to her place where she is fed there for a time, and times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ And from his mouth the serpent spouted water like a river after the woman, in order that he could make her swept away by a river. ¹⁶ And the earth came to the aid of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spouted out of his mouth. ¹⁷ And the dragon was angry at the woman, and went away to fight against^[aa] the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and who hold to the testimony about Jesus. ¹⁸ And he stood on the sand of the sea.