5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah,n the Root of David,o has conqueredp so that he is able to open the scroll andD its seven seals.”

6 Then I saw one like a slaughtered lambq standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of Godr sent into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne.

THE LAMB IS WORTHY

8 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harps and golden bowlst filled with incense,u which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song:v

You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slaughtered,

and you purchasedE peopleF

for God by your blood

from every tribe and language

and people and nation.w

10 You made them a kingdomG

and priests to our God,x

and they will reign on the earth.

11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands.y 12 They said with a loud voice,

Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered

to receive power and riches

and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and blessing!

13 I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth,z on the sea, and everything in them say,aa

Blessing and honor and glory and power

be to the one seated on the throne,

and to the Lamb, forever and ever!

14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

THE FIRST SEAL ON THE SCROLL

6 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the sevenH seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder,ab “Come!” 2 I looked, and there was a white horse.ac Its rider held a bow;ad a crownae was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.I

THE SECOND SEAL

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one,af and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.a

THE THIRD SEAL

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse.b Its rider held a set of scales in his hand.c 6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,A and three quarts of barley for a denarius,d but do not harm the oil and the wine.”e

THE FOURTH SEAL

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and there was a pale greenB horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him.f They wereC given authorityg over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.h

THE FIFTH SEAL

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.D,i 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “Lord,E the one who is holy and true,j how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?k” 11 So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.

THE SIXTH SEAL

12 Then I saw him openF the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred;l the sun turned black like sackclothm made of hair; the entire moonG became like blood;n 13 the starsH of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14 the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up;o and every mountain and island was moved from its place.p

15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.q 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide usr from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of theirI wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”s