| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. | 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. |
| 2And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. | 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 there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. | 3And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. |
| 4And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. | 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. |
| 5And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. | 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. |
| 6And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. | 6During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. |
| 7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. | 7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. |
| 8And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. | 8Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. |
| 9And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. | 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. |
| 10And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. | 10They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. |
| 11And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. | 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). |
| 12One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. | 12The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. |
| 13And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, | 13The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. |
| 14Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. | 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 were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. | 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. |
| 16And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. | 16The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number. |
| 17And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. | 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. |
| 18By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. | 18A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. |
| 19For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. | 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. |
| 20And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: | 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. |
| 21Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. | 21Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. |
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