9
1 And the malach hachamishi (fifth angel) sounded his shofar; and I saw a kokhav (star) having fallen out of Shomayim to ha'aretz. And was given to it the mafte'ach (key) of the shaft of the Tehom (Abyss). 2 And he opened the shaft of the Tehom (Abyss), and smoke came up out of the shaft as smoke of a great furnace, and the shemesh (sun) was darkened and the air was darkened by the smoke of the shaft.* 3 And out of the smoke came forth arbeh (locusts) to ha'aretz (the earth), and samchut (authority) was given to them like the samchut of the akrabei ha'aretz (scorpions of the earth).† 4 And it was told them that they should not harm the grass of ha'aretz (the earth) nor any greenery nor any etz (tree), except the Bnei Adam, all who do not have the chotam (seal) of Hashem on their metsakhim (foreheads).‡ 5 And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they will be tormented chamishah chodashim (five months). Their torment is as the torment of an akrav when it stings a man. 6 And in those days Bnei Adam will seek Mavet (Death) and by no means will find it. And they will desire to die and Mavet flees from them.§
7 And the appearances of the arbeh (locusts) were like susim (horses) having been prepared for milchamah (war), and on the heads of them what looked like atarot (diadems) of zahav (gold) and the faces were like the faces of Bnei Adam.* 8 And they had hair that looked like the hair of an isha (a woman), and they had teeth that looked like the teeth of an aryeh (lion),† 9 and they had breastplates like iron breastplates and the sound of the wings of them was as the sound of many merkavot (chariots) with susim (horses) racing into the sadeh krav (battlefield),‡ 10 And they have tails like akrabim (scorpions), with stingers, and the ko'ach (power) of them is in their tails to harm Bnei Adam chamishah chodashim (five months). 11 They have over them a melech (king), the malach (angel) of the Tehom (Abyss), the name for him in Ivrit, “Abaddon,” (that is, Destruction) and in Elliniki he has the name Apollyon (that is, “Destroyer”).§
12 The Oy Echad (the First Woe) has passed. Hinei, yet comes two more woes after these things.
13 And the malach hashishi (the sixth angel) sounded his shofar. And I heard kol echad (one voice) from the four horns of the golden Mizbe'ach (altar) before Hashem,* 14 saying to the malach hashishi, the one having the shofar, Release the arba'at hamalachim (the four angels) having been bound at the great river, Euphrates.† 15 And the arba'at hamalachim (four angels) were released, having been prepared for the sha'ah (hour) and the yom (day) and chodesh (month) and shanah (year), that they should kill a third of Bnei Adam. 16 And the mispar (number) of tziveot haparashim (troops of cavalry-men) were twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard the mispar of them. 17 And thus I saw the susim (horses) in my chazon (vision, revelation, prophecy) and the riders on them, having breastplates fiery red and hyacinth blue and sulfur yellow, and the heads of the susim like heads of arayot (lions), and from the mouths of them goes forth eish (fire) and smoke and gofrit (sulfur).‡ 18 From these shlosh hamakkot (three plagues)§ were killed a third of Bnei Adam, by the eish (fire) and the smoke and the gofrit (sulfur) coming out of the mouth of them. 19 For the ko'ach (power) of the susim (horses) is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like nechashim (serpents), having heads, and with them they inflict harm.
20 And the rest of the Bnei Adam, the ones not killed by these makkot (plagues), did not make teshuva and turn from the ma'asim (deeds) of their hands or forsake worship of shedim (demons) and the itztzavim (idols, images, tzelamim), those of gold and of silver and of bronze and of stone and of wood, which neither are able to see nor to hear nor to walk.* 21 And they did not make teshuva (repentance, turning from sin to G-d) of the retzichot (murders) of them nor of the kishufim (sorceries) of them nor of the zenunim (fornication) of them nor of the gneyvot (thefts) of them.†
* 9:2 Gn 19:28; Ex 19:18; Yoel 2:2,10 † 9:3 Ex 10:12-15 ‡ 9:4 Ezek 9:4 § 9:6 Job 3:21; 7:15; Jer 8:3 * 9:7 Yoel 2:4; Dan 7:8 † 9:8 Yoel 1:6 ‡ 9:9 Yoel 2:5 § 9:11 Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Ps 88:11 * 9:13 Ex 30:1-3 † 9:14 Gn 15:18; Dt 1:7; Josh 1:4; Isa 11:15 ‡ 9:17 Ps 11:6; Isa 30:33; Ezek 38:22 § 9:18 this word makkah, makkot [pl.] comes from the Pesach Haggadah “eser makkot” or ten plagues, and is a key word from here on in the book of Revelation, showing the end-time plagues of the Brit Chadasha Exodus of the Geulah Redemption * 9:20 Dt 4:28; 31:29; Jer 1:16; Mic 5:13 † 9:21 Isa 47:9,12