The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice,1 “Come!”2 6:2 So3 I looked,4 and here came5 a white horse! The6 one who rode it7 had a bow, and he was given a crown,8 and as a conqueror9 he rode out to conquer.

6:3 Then10 when the Lamb11 opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 6:4 And another horse, fiery red,12 came out, and the one who rode it13 was granted permission14 to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher15 one another, and he was given a huge sword.

6:5 Then16 when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So17 I looked,18 and here came19 a black horse! The20 one who rode it21 had a balance scale22 in his hand. 6:6 Then23 I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart24 of wheat will cost a day’s pay25 and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But26 do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”

6:7 Then27 when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 6:8 So28 I looked29 and here came30 a pale green31 horse! The32 name of the one who rode it33 was Death, and Hades followed right behind.34 They35 were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword,36 famine, and disease,37 and by the wild animals of the earth.

6:9 Now38 when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed39 because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They40 cried out with a loud voice,41 “How long,42 Sovereign Master,43 holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each44 of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached45 of both their fellow servants46 and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.

6:12 Then47 I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge48 earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair,49 and the full moon became blood red;50 6:13 and the stars in the sky51 fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping52 its unripe figs53 when shaken by a fierce54 wind. 6:14 The sky55 was split apart56 like a scroll being rolled up,57 and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then58 the kings of the earth, the59 very important people, the generals,60 the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave61 and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They62 said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,63 6:17 because the great day of their64 wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”65