Revelation 9:1-10

1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet. I saw a star which had fallen down to the earth, and it was given the key to the abyss.
2 The star opened the abyss, and smoke poured out of it, like the smoke from a large furnace; the sunlight and the air were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. 1
3 Locusts came down out of the smoke upon the earth, and they were given the same kind of power that scorpions have. 2
4 They were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other plant; they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God's seal on their foreheads. 3
5 The locusts were not allowed to kill these people, but only to torture them for five months. The pain caused by the torture is like the pain caused by a scorpion's sting.
6 During those five months they will seek death, but will not find it; they will want to die, but death will flee from them. 4
7 The locusts looked like horses ready for battle; on their heads they had what seemed to be crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces. 5
8 Their hair was like women's hair, their teeth were like lions' teeth. 6
9 Their chests were covered with what looked like iron breastplates, and the sound made by their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle. 7
10 They have tails and stings like those of a scorpion, and it is with their tails that they have the power to hurt people for five months.

Cross References 7

  • 1. 9.2Genesis 19.28+22 Esdras 7.36.
  • 2. 9.3Exodus 10.12-15+2Wisdom 16.9.
  • 3. 9.4Ezekiel 9.4.
  • 4. 9.6Job 3.21;Jeremiah 8.3.
  • 5. 9.7Joel 2.4.
  • 6. 9.8Joel 1.6.
  • 7. 9.9Joel 2.5.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. abyss: [The place in the depths of the earth where the demons were imprisoned until their final punishment.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.