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 ¹¹Then 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 ¹⁶They 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

Read in Logos

Footnotes

aOr about 1 kilogram
bGreek a denarius
cOr about 3 kilograms
dGreek a denarius
eThe Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 12:10; 19:10.
fSee Hosea 10:8.
gSome manuscripts his

Cross references

aSee Rev 5:6
b Rev 5:1
cSee Rev 4:6, 7
d Rev 14:2; 19:6
e Zec 1:8; 6:3; Rev 19:11
f Zec 6:11; Rev 14:14; 19:12
g Ps 45:4
h Rev 4:7
i Zec 1:8; 6:2
j Mt 10:34
k Rev 4:7
l Zec 6:2
mSee Rev 4:6, 7
n Eze 4:16
o Rev 7:1, 3; 9:4
p Rev 4:7
q Zec 6:3
r Hos 13:14; Rev 1:18; 20:13, 14
s Jer 15:2, 3; 24:10; Eze 5:12, 17
t Ex 29:12; Lev 4:7
u Rev 14:18; 16:7
v Rev 20:4
w Ro 1:2; See Heb 4:12
x Ps 119:84; Zec 1:12
y Lk 2:29; 2 Pe 2:1
zSee Rev 3:7
aSee Rev 3:10
b Dt 32:43; 2 Ki 9:7; Ps 79:10; Rev 16:6; 18:20; 19:2
cSee Rev 3:4
d Heb 11:40
e Ps 97:4; Isa 29:6; Eze 38:19; Rev 8:5; 11:13; 16:18
fSee Mt 24:29
g Isa 50:3
hSee Mt 24:29; Rev 8:10; 9:1
i Isa 34:4
jSee 2 Pe 3:10; Rev 20:11; 21:1
k Ps 46:2; Isa 54:10; Jer 4:24; Eze 38:20; Na 1:5; Rev 16:20; 21:1
l Rev 19:18
m Isa 2:10, 19, 21
n Hos 10:8; Lk 23:30
oSee Rev 5:1
p Joel 1:15; 2:1, 2, 11, 31; Zep 1:14, 15; Rev 16:14
q Ps 76:7; Na 1:6; Mal 3:2