Revelation 9:5

They were allowed to torment them for five months , but not to kill them , and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone .

They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months : and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.