The Message Bible MSG
New American Standard Bible NAS
1 The fifth Angel trumpeted. I saw a Star plummet from Heaven to earth. The Star was handed a key to the Well of the Abyss.
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Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.
2 He unlocked the Well of the Abyss - smoke poured out of the Well, billows and billows of smoke, sun and air in blackout from smoke pouring out of the Well.
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He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.
3 Then out of the smoke crawled locusts with the venom of scorpions.
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Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They were given their orders: "Don't hurt the grass, don't hurt anything green, don't hurt a single tree - only men and women, and then only those who lack the seal of God on their foreheads."
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They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
5 They were ordered to torture but not kill, torture them for five months, the pain like a scorpion sting.
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And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.
6 When this happens, people are going to prefer death to torture, look for ways to kill themselves. But they won't find a way - death will have gone into hiding.
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And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
7 The locusts looked like horses ready for war. They had gold crowns, human faces,
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The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
8 women's hair, the teeth of lions,
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They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.
9 and iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was the sound of horse-drawn chariots charging into battle.
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They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.
10 Their tails were equipped with stings, like scorpion tails. With those tails they were ordered to torture the human race for five months.
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They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.
11 They had a king over them, the Angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, in Greek, Apollyon - "Destroyer."
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They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
12 The first doom is past. Two dooms yet to come.
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The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
13 The sixth Angel trumpeted. I heard a voice speaking to the sixth Angel from the horns of the Golden Altar before God:
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Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 "Let the Four Angels loose, the Angels confined at the great River Euphrates."
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one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
15 The Four Angels were untied and let loose, Four Angels all prepared for the exact year, month, day, and even hour when they were to kill a third of the human race.
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And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.
16 The number of the army of horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the count
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The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million ; I heard the number of them.
17 and saw both horses and riders in my vision: fiery breastplates on the riders, lion heads on the horses breathing out fire and smoke and brimstone.
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And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 With these three weapons - fire and smoke and brimstone - they killed a third of the human race.
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A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 The horses killed with their mouths and tails; their serpentlike tails also had heads that wreaked havoc.
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For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.
20 The remaining men and women who weren't killed by these weapons went on their merry way - didn't change their way of life, didn't quit worshiping demons, didn't quit centering their lives around lumps of gold and silver and brass, hunks of stone and wood that couldn't see or hear or move.
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The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;
21 There wasn't a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways.
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and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. All rights reserved.