³ Then locusts came forth from the smoke and onto the earth. They were given power like the power that scorpions have on the earth. ⁴ They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree. They could only hurt the people who didn’t have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ The locusts weren’t allowed to kill them, but only to make them suffer for five months—and the suffering they inflict is like that of a scorpion when it strikes a person.