⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree. They were supposed to harm only the people without God’s official seal on their foreheads. ⁵ The locusts were not allowed to kill these people. But the locusts could hurt them over and over for five months. The pain the people suffered was like the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. ⁶ In those days, people will look for a way to die but won’t find it. They will want to die, but death will escape them.