Young's Literal Translation YLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 And the fifth messenger did sound, and I saw a star out of the heaven having fallen to the earth, and there was given to it the key of the pit of the abyss,
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.
2 and he did open the pit of the abyss, and there came up a smoke out of the pit as smoke of a great furnace, and darkened was the sun and the air, from the smoke of the pit.
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.
3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts to the earth, and there was given to them authority, as scorpions of the earth have authority,
3
Then out of the smoke crawled locusts with the venom of scorpions.
4 and it was said to them that they may not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but -- the men only who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads,
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."
5 and it was given to them that they may not kill them, but that they may be tormented five months, and their torment [is] as the torment of a scorpion, when it may strike a man;
5
They were ordered to torture but not kill, torture them for five months, the pain like a scorpion sting.
6 and in those days shall men seek the death, and they shall not find it, and they shall desire to die, and the death shall flee from them.
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.
7 And the likenesses of the locusts [are] like to horses made ready to battle, and upon their heads as crowns like gold, and their faces as faces of men,
7
The locusts looked like horses ready for war. They had gold crowns, human faces,
8 and they had hair as hair of women, and their teeth were as [those] of lions,
8
women's hair, the teeth of lions,
9 and they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings [is] as the noise of chariots of many horses running to battle;
9
and iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was the sound of horse-drawn chariots charging into battle.
10 and they have tails like to scorpions, and stings were in their tails; and their authority [is] to injure men five months;
10
Their tails were equipped with stings, like scorpion tails. With those tails they were ordered to torture the human race for five months.
11 and they have over them a king -- the messenger of the abyss -- a name [is] to him in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in the Greek he hath a name, Apollyon.
11
They had a king over them, the Angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, in Greek, Apollyon - "Destroyer."
12 The first wo did go forth, lo, there come yet two woes after these things.
12
The first doom is past. Two dooms yet to come.
13 And the sixth messenger did sound, and I heard a voice out of the four horns of the altar of gold that is before God,
13
The sixth Angel trumpeted. I heard a voice speaking to the sixth Angel from the horns of the Golden Altar before God:
14 saying to the sixth messenger who had the trumpet, `Loose the four messengers who are bound at the great river Euphrates;'
14
"Let the Four Angels loose, the Angels confined at the great River Euphrates."
15 and loosed were the four messengers, who have been made ready for the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they may kill the third of men;
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.
16 and the number of the forces of the horsemen [is] two myriads of myriads, and I heard the number of them.
16
The number of the army of horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the count
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting upon them, having breastplates of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone; and the heads of the horses [are] as heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceedeth fire, and smoke, and brimstone;
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.
18 by these three were the third of men killed, from the fire, and from the smoke, and from the brimstone, that is proceeding out of their mouth,
18
With these three weapons - fire and smoke and brimstone - they killed a third of the human race.
19 for their authorities are in their mouth, and in their tails, for their tails [are] like serpents, having heads, and with them they do injure;
19
The horses killed with their mouths and tails; their serpentlike tails also had heads that wreaked havoc.
20 and the rest of men, who were not killed in these plagues, neither did reform from the works of their hands, that they may not bow before the demons, and idols, those of gold, and those of silver, and those of brass, and those of stone, and those of wood, that are neither able to see, nor to hear, nor to walk,
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.
21 yea they did not reform from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their whoredoms, nor from their thefts.
21
There wasn't a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.
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.