Revelation 6

English Standard Version

The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^(A)the seven seals, and I heard ^(B)one of the four living creatures say ^(C)with a voice like thunder, ^(D)“Come!” ²And I looked, and behold, ^(E)a white horse! And ^(F)its rider had a bow, and ^(G)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(H)conquering, and to conquer.

³When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(I)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴And out came another horse, ^(J)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(K)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(L)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(M)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(N)“A quart^[a] of wheat for a denarius,^[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(O)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(P)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸And I looked, and behold, ^(Q)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(R)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(S)by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(T)the altar ^(U)the souls of those who had been slain ^(V)for the word of God and for ^(W)the witness they had borne. ¹⁰They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(X)holy and true, ^(Y)how long ^(Z)before you will judge and ^(AA)avenge our blood on ^(AB)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹Then they were each given ^(AC)a white robe and ^(AD)told to rest a little longer, ^(AE)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^[c] ^(AF)should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹²When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(AG)there was a great earthquake, and ^(AH)the sun became black as ^(AI)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³and ^(AJ)the stars of the sky fell to the earth ^(AK)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴^(AL)The sky vanished ^(AM)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^(AN)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave^[d] and free, ^(AO)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶^(AP)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^(AQ)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷for ^(AR)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(AS)who can stand?”

Footnotes

Revelation 6:6 Greek choinix, a dry measure equal to about a quart
Revelation 6:6 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
Revelation 6:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
Revelation 6:15 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface

Revelation 18

English Standard Version

The Fall of Babylon

18 After this I saw ^(A)another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and ^(B)the earth was made bright with his glory. ²And he called out with a mighty voice,

^(C)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    She has become ^(D)a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt ^(E)for every unclean spirit,
    a haunt ^(F)for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
³For all nations have drunk^[a]
    ^(G)the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
    and ^(I)the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

^(J)“Come out of her, my people,
    lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
⁵for ^(K)her sins are heaped high as heaven,
    and ^(L)God has remembered her iniquities.
⁶^(M)Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
    and repay her ^(N)double for her deeds;
    mix a double portion for her ^(O)in the cup she mixed.
⁷^(P)As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
    ^(Q)‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
    and mourning I shall never see.’
⁸For this reason her plagues will come ^(R)in a single day,
    death and mourning and famine,
and ^(S)she will be burned up with fire;
    for ^(T)mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

⁹And ^(U)the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, ^(V)will weep and wail over her ^(W)when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰^(X)They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! ^(Y)You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For ^(Z)in a single hour your judgment has come.”

¹¹And ^(AA)the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, ¹²cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, ¹³cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.^[b]

¹⁴“The fruit for which your soul longed
    has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
    are lost to you,
    never to be found again!”

¹⁵^(AB)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, ^(AC)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

¹⁶“Alas, alas, for the great city
    ^(AD)that was clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!
¹⁷For ^(AE)in a single hour all this wealth ^(AF)has been laid waste.”

And ^(AG)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off ¹⁸and ^(AH)cried out ^(AI)as they saw the smoke of her burning,

^(AJ)“What city was like the great city?”

¹⁹And they threw ^(AK)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city
    ^(AL)where all who had ships at sea
    grew rich by her wealth!
For ^(AM)in a single hour she has been laid waste.
²⁰^(AN)Rejoice over her, O heaven,
    and you saints and ^(AO)apostles and prophets,
for ^(AP)God has given judgment for you against her!”

²¹Then ^(AQ)a mighty angel ^(AR)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“So will Babylon ^(AS)the great city be thrown down with violence,
    and will be found no more;
²²and ^(AT)the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
    will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
    will be found in you no more,
and ^(AU)the sound of the mill
    will be heard in you no more,
²³and the light of a lamp
    will shine in you no more,
and ^(AV)the voice of bridegroom and bride
    will be heard in you no more,
for ^(AW)your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
    and all nations were deceived ^(AX)by your sorcery.
²⁴And ^(AY)in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
    and of ^(AZ)all who have been slain on earth.”