The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
1
When he opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God,
and to them were given seven trumpets.
3
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints,
on the golden altar before the throne.
4
The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints,
went up before God from the angel's hand
5
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,
and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings,
flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
The Trumpets
6
Then the seven angels
who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7
The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire
mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth.
A third of the earth was burned up,
a third of the trees were burned up, and
all the green grass was burned up.
8
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain,
all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.
A third of the sea turned into blood,
9
a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and
a third of the ships were destroyed.
10
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star,
blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on
a third of the rivers and on the prings of water -
11
the n ame of the star is Wormwood.
A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died
from the waters that had become bitter.
12
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck,
a third of the moon, and a third of the star, so that a third of them turned
dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
13
As I watched I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice:
"Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet
blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"
