Beginning
9 Then[a] the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky[b] to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.[c] 2 He[d] opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it[e] like smoke from a giant furnace. The[f] sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft. 3 Then[g] out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power[h] like that of the scorpions of the earth. 4 They[i] were told[j] not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people[k] who did not have the seal of God on their[l] forehead. 5 The locusts[m] were not given permission[n] to kill[o] them, but only to torture[p] them[q] for five months, and their torture was like that[r] of a scorpion when it stings a person.[s] 6 In[t] those days people[u] will seek death, but[v] will not be able to[w] find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 Now[x] the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On[y] their heads were something like crowns similar to gold,[z] and their faces looked like men’s[aa] faces. 8 They[ab] had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates[ac] like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. 10 They have[ad] tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability[ae] to injure people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.[af]
12 The first woe has passed, but[ag] two woes are still coming after these things!
13 Then[ah] the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice coming from the[ai] horns on the golden altar that is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding[aj] the trumpet, “Set free[ak] the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” 15 Then[al] the four angels who had been prepared for this[am] hour, day,[an] month, and year were set free to kill[ao] a third of humanity. 16 The[ap] number of soldiers on horseback was 200,000,000;[aq] I heard their number. 17 Now[ar] this is what the horses and their riders[as] looked like in my[at] vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red,[au] dark blue,[av] and sulfurous[aw] yellow in color.[ax] The[ay] heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur[az] came out of their mouths. 18 A third of humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is,[ba] by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19 For the power[bb] of the horses resides[bc] in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes, having heads that inflict injuries. 20 The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made[bd] of gold, silver,[be] bronze, stone, and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. 21 Furthermore,[bf] they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells,[bg] of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.
The Angel with the Little Scroll
10 Then[bh] I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped[bi] in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire.[bj] 2 He held[bk] in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 3 Then[bl] he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but[bm] just then[bn] I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.” 5 Then[bo] the angel 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, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay![bp] 7 But in the days[bq] when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed,[br] just as he has[bs] proclaimed to his servants[bt] the prophets.” 8 Then[bu] the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak[bv] to me[bw] again,[bx] “Go and take the open[by] scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So[bz] I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He[ca] said to me, “Take the scroll[cb] and eat it. It[cc] will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 So[cd] I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste[ce] as sweet as honey in my mouth, but[cf] when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 Then[cg] they[ch] told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations,[ci] languages, and kings.”
The Fate of the Two Witnesses
11 Then[cj] a measuring rod[ck] like a staff was given to me, and I was told,[cl] “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. 2 But[cm] do not measure the outer courtyard[cn] of the temple; leave it out,[co] because it has been given to the Gentiles,[cp] and they will trample on the holy city[cq] for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority[cr] to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 (These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.)[cs] 5 If[ct] anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths[cu] and completely consumes[cv] their enemies. If[cw] anyone wants to harm them, they must be killed this way. 6 These two have the power[cx] to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the time[cy] they are prophesying. They[cz] have power[da] to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want. 7 When[db] they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer[dc] them and kill them. 8 Their[dd] corpses will lie in the street[de] of the great city that is symbolically[df] called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified. 9 For three and a half days those from every[dg] people, tribe,[dh] nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb.[di] 10 And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. 11 But[dj] after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seized[dk] those who were watching them. 12 Then[dl] they[dm] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: “Come up here!” So the two prophets[dn] went up to heaven in a cloud while[do] their enemies stared at them. 13 Just then[dp] a major earthquake took place and a tenth of the city collapsed; seven thousand people[dq] were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has come and gone;[dr] the third is coming quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then[ds] the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
“The kingdom of the world
has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ,[dt]
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
16 Then[du] the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground[dv] and worshiped God 17 with these words:[dw]
“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful,[dx]
the one who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.[dy]
18 The[dz] nations[ea] were enraged,
but[eb] your wrath has come,
and the time has come for the dead to be judged,
and the time has come to give to your servants,[ec]
the prophets, their reward,
as well as to the saints
and to those who revere[ed] your name, both small and great,
and the time has come[ee] to destroy those who destroy[ef] the earth.”
19 Then[eg] the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring,[eh] crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.[ei]
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
12 Then[ej] a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.[ek] 2 She[el] was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling[em] to give birth. 3 Then[en] another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.[eo] 4 Now[ep] the dragon’s[eq] tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then[er] the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 So[es] the woman gave birth to a son, a male child,[et] who is going to rule[eu] over all the nations[ev] with an iron rod.[ew] Her[ex] child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and she[ey] fled into the wilderness[ez] where a place had been prepared for her[fa] by God, so she could be taken care of[fb] for 1,260 days.
War in Heaven
7 Then[fc] war broke out in heaven: Michael[fd] and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But[fe] the dragon was not strong enough to prevail,[ff] so there was no longer any place left[fg] in heaven for him and his angels.[fh] 9 So[fi] that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 10 Then[fj] I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority[fk] of his Christ,[fl] have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,[fm]
the one who accuses them day and night[fn] before our God,
has been thrown down.
11 But[fo] they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives[fp] so much that they were afraid to die.
12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!
But[fq] woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
He[fr] is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time!”
13 Now[fs] when the dragon realized[ft] that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But[fu] the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness,[fv] to the place God[fw] prepared for her, where she is taken care of—away from the presence of the serpent—for a time, times, and half a time.[fx] 15 Then[fy] the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to[fz] sweep her away by a flood, 16 but[ga] the earth came to her rescue;[gb] the ground opened up[gc] and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So[gd] the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children,[ge] those who keep[gf] God’s commandments and hold to[gg] the testimony about Jesus.[gh] 18 And the dragon[gi] stood[gj] on the sand[gk] of the seashore.[gl]
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