² It opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and smoke came out of the shaft like the smoke from a large furnace. The smoke darkened the sun and the air. ³ Locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and they were given power like the power of earthly scorpions. ⁴ They were told not to harm any grass, green plant, or tree on the earth. They could harm only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.