1The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 11They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
12The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.
13The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.
17The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. 18A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
20The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Den femte trompet
1Da den femte engel blæste i sin trompet, så jeg, at der faldt en stjerne fra himlen ned på jorden. Den fik nøglen til skakten, som fører ned til jordens indre afgrund. 2Den åbnede for skakten ned til afgrunden, og en røgsky som fra en meget stor ovn steg op og skyggede for solen, så det blev halvmørkt over det hele. 3Ud af røgskyen kom der græshopper, som spredte sig ud over jorden, og de blev udstyret med den samme gift, som skorpioner har. 4De fik at vide, at de hverken måtte angribe græs, urter eller træer, men kun de mennesker, der ikke havde Guds mærke på panden. 5De fik ikke lov til at slå dem ihjel, men til at pine dem i fem måneder. Og smerterne er, som når man bliver stukket af en skorpion. 6Det bliver så pinefuldt, at menneskene vil ønske at dø, men de dør ikke.
7Græshopperne lignede heste, der er rustet til krig. Det var, som om de havde gyldne kranse på hovederne. Deres ansigter lignede menneskeansigter. 8Deres hår var langt som en kvindes hår, og deres tænder frygtindgydende som en løves tænder. 9De var dækket af brynjer, der var lavet af jern, og lyden af deres vinger var som lyden af mange stridsvogne med heste i fuldt trav. 10De havde haler med en stikkende brod ligesom skorpioner, og med deres stik havde de magt til at plage menneskene i fem måneder. 11De havde en hersker over sig, nemlig afgrundens engel. Hans hebraiske navn er Abaddon, og hans græske navn er Apollyon.9,11 Disse navne betyder „Ødelæggeren”.
12Det var det første „ak og ve”, men der er endnu to tilbage.
Den sjette trompet
13Da den sjette engel blæste i sin trompet, hørte jeg en stemme, der kom fra hornene på det forgyldte røgelsesalter i Guds tempel. 14Stemmen råbte til den sjette engel, der havde trompeten: „Løs de fire engle, der står bundne ved den store flod Eufrat!” 15De fire engle, som var holdt i beredskab til netop denne time, dag, måned og år, blev løst, og deres opgave var at dræbe en tredjedel af alle mennesker. 16De sendte en rytterhær af sted på 20.000 gange 10.000 mand. Jeg hørte tallet blive nævnt.
17Jeg iagttog hestene såvel som de ryttere, der sad på dem. Rytterne havde ildrøde, mørkeblå og svovlgule rustninger på. Hestenes hoveder var frygtindgydende som løvehoveder, og røg og ild og brændende svovl stod ud af munden på dem. 18En tredjedel af alle mennesker blev dræbt af røgen, ilden og den brændende svovl. 19Hestene kunne dræbe både med munden og med halen. Halen lignede en slange og havde et hoved, som huggede efter folk.
20De mennesker, der overlevede disse plager, holdt dog ikke op med deres onde handlinger. De fortsatte med at dyrke onde ånder og afgudsbilleder af guld, sølv, kobber, sten og træ, afguder, der hverken kan se eller høre eller bevæge sig. 21De holdt ikke op med deres voldshandlinger, okkultisme, seksuelle synder og tyverier.
