Revelation 5–6

The Scroll and the Lamb

5Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne^o a scroll with writing on both sides^p and sealed^q with seven seals. ²And I saw a mighty angel^r proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion^s of the tribe of Judah,^t the Root of David,^u has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶Then I saw a Lamb,^v looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures^w and the elders.^x The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes,^y which are the seven spirits^az of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.^{a 8}And when he had taken it, the four living creatures^b and the twenty-four elders^c fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp^d and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers^e of God’s people. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying:^f

“You are worthy^g to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

and with your blood^h you purchasedⁱ for God

persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.^j

¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests^k to serve our God,

and they will reign^b on the earth.”^l

¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.^m They encircled the throne and the living creaturesⁿ and the elders.^{o 12}In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb,^p who was slain,^q

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!”^r

¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth^s and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne^t and to the Lamb^u

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!”^v

¹⁴The four living creatures^w said, “Amen,”^x and the elders^y fell down and worshiped.^z

The Seals

6I watched as the Lamb^a opened the first of the seven seals.^b Then I heard one of the four living creatures^c say in a voice like thunder,^d “Come!” ²I looked, and there before me was a white horse!^e Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown,^f and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.^g

³When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature^h say, “Come!” ⁴Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.ⁱ Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth^j and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

⁵When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature^k say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse!^l Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,^m saying, “Two pounds^a of wheat for a day’s wages,^b and six pounds^c of barley for a day’s wages,^dn and do not damage^o the oil and the wine!”

⁷When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature^p say, “Come!” ⁸I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!^q Its rider was named Death, and Hades^r was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.^s

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under^t the altar^u the souls of those who had been slain^v because of the word of God^w and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰They called out in a loud voice, “How long,^x Sovereign Lord,^y holy and true,^z until you judge the inhabitants of the earth^a and avenge our blood?”^{b 11}Then each of them was given a white robe,^c and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,^e were killed just as they had been.^d

¹²I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake.^e The sun turned black^f like sackcloth^g made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, ¹³and the stars in the sky fell to earth,^h as figs drop from a fig treeⁱ when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up,^j and every mountain and island was removed from its place.^k

¹⁵Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free,^l hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.^{m 16}They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on usⁿ and hide us^f from the face of him who sits on the throne^o and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷For the great day^p of their^g wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”^q