The Seventh Seal

8 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence x in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; y seven trumpets were given to them. z 3 Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the * saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. a 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. 5 The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, b and hurled it to the earth; there were rumblings of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. c 6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The First Trumpet

7 The first angel d blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. e So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. f

The Second Trumpet

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. g So a third of the sea became blood, h 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The Third Trumpet

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven. i It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood, j and a third of the waters became * wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

The Fourth Trumpet

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well. k

13 I looked again and heard an eagle l flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe! m Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”