⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; ¹⁰ they cried out with a loud voice, ‘Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?’ ¹¹ They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow-servants^[a] and of their brothers and sisters,^[b] who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.