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The Seven Seals

Then I looked when the (A)Lamb opened one of the (B)seven seals, and I heard one of the (C)four living creatures saying as with a (D)voice of thunder, “[a]Come.” Then I looked, and behold, a (E)white horse, and he who sits on it had a bow; and (F)a crown was given to him, and he went out (G)overcoming and to overcome.

And when He opened the second seal, I heard the (H)second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, (I)a red horse, went out; and to him who sits on it, it was given to him to (J)take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

And when He opened the third seal, I heard the (K)third living creature saying, “Come.” Then I looked, and behold, a (L)black horse; and he who sits on it had a (M)pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the (N)four living creatures saying, “One [b]choinix of wheat for one [c]denarius, and three [d]choinix of barley for one [e]denarius, and (O)do not harm the oil and the wine.”

And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the (P)fourth living creature saying, “Come.” Then I looked, and behold, a (Q)pale horse; and he who sits on it had the name (R)Death, and (S)Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, (T)to kill with sword and with famine and with [f]pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw (U)underneath the (V)altar the (W)souls of those who had been slain (X)because of the word of God, and because of the (Y)witness which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(Z)How long, O (AA)Master, (AB)holy and true? [g]Will You not (AC)judge and avenge our blood on (AD)those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And (AE)a white robe was given to each of them; and it was told to them that they should (AF)rest for a little while longer, (AG)until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were to be killed even as they had been, would be (AH)completed also.

12 Then I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great (AI)earthquake; and the (AJ)sun became black as (AK)sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and (AL)the stars of the sky fell to the earth, (AM)as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 (AN)And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and (AO)every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 Then (AP)the kings of the earth and the great men and the [h]commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man (AQ)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *(AR)said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the [i]presence of Him (AS)who sits on the throne, and from the [j](AT)wrath of the Lamb, 17 for (AU)the great (AV)day of their [k]wrath has come, and (AW)who is able to stand?”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 6:1 One early ms adds and see, so in v 3, 5, 7
  2. Revelation 6:6 A choinix was approx. 1 qt. or 1 l
  3. Revelation 6:6 A Roman silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
  4. Revelation 6:6 A choinix was approx. 1 qt. or 1 l
  5. Revelation 6:6 A Roman silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
  6. Revelation 6:8 Or death
  7. Revelation 6:10 Lit do You not judge and avenge
  8. Revelation 6:15 Military leader over 1,000 soldiers
  9. Revelation 6:16 Lit face
  10. Revelation 6:16 Or rage
  11. Revelation 6:17 Or rage

The Lamb Opens The First Six Seals

And I saw when the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living-creatures saying like a voice of [a] thunder, “Come[b]”. And I saw, and behold— there was a white horse, and the one sitting on it having a bow. And a crown was given to him. And he went out conquering, and[c] in order that he might conquer.

And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living-creature saying, “Come”. And another horse— a fire-red one— went out. And to the one sitting on it, authority was given to him to take the peace[d] from the earth, and[e] that they will slay one another. And a great sword was given to him.

And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living-creature saying, “Come”. And I saw, and behold— there was a black horse, and the one sitting on it holding a balance-scale in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living-creatures, saying “A quart[f] of wheat for a denarius[g], and three quarts of barley for a denarius. And do not harm the olive-oil and the wine”.

And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living-creature saying, “Come”. And I saw, and behold— there was a pale-green horse, and the one sitting on it. Death was the name for him. And Hades was following with him. And authority[h] was given to them over a fourth of the earth[i], to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild-beasts of the earth.

And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of the ones having been slain because of the word of God and[j] because of the testimony which they were holding[k]. 10 And they cried-out with a loud voice, saying “How long, holy and true Master, are You not judging and avenging[l] our blood from the ones dwelling upon the earth?” 11 And a white robe was given to them, to each one. And it was told to them that they shall[m] rest[n] a short time longer, until also[o] the number of their fellow-slaves and[p] their brothers going to be killed as also they, may be completed[q].

12 And I saw when He opened the sixth seal. And a great earthquake took place. And the sun became black like a sackcloth made-of-hair, and the whole moon became like blood[r], 13 and the stars of the heaven fell to the earth— as a fig tree being shaken by a great wind throws its late-figs. 14 And the heaven was split[s] like a scroll being rolled-up. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth and the princes and the commanders and the rich and the powerful and every slave and free one hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they are saying to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall upon us and hide us from the face[t] of the One sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of Their wrath came, and who is able to stand?”.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 6:1 That is, characterized by.
  2. Revelation 6:1 Or, Go.
  3. Revelation 6:2 Or, even.
  4. Revelation 6:4 That is, the peace following the first horseman. Or, peace; that is, peace in general.
  5. Revelation 6:4 Or, even.
  6. Revelation 6:6 This was the daily allowance for a slave.
  7. Revelation 6:6 That is, the daily wage for a laborer. That is, it will cost all one can earn to buy food to survive.
  8. Revelation 6:8 Or, power, freedom-to-act.
  9. Revelation 6:8 Or, land.
  10. Revelation 6:9 Or, even.
  11. Revelation 6:9 Or, having.
  12. Revelation 6:10 Related to ‘Vengeance’ is Mine.
  13. Revelation 6:11 Or, should.
  14. Revelation 6:11 That is, from their labors; or, from crying for vengeance.
  15. Revelation 6:11 Or, both.
  16. Revelation 6:11 Or, even.
  17. Revelation 6:11 Or, fulfilled, filled-full.
  18. Revelation 6:12 That is, red.
  19. Revelation 6:14 Or, parted. That is, split in two like a scroll being rolled up sometimes tears in two; or, parted from earth, like a scroll being rolled up.
  20. Revelation 6:16 Or, presence.

I quattro cavalieri

Allora vidi lʼAgnello rompere il primo dei sette sigilli e udii una delle quattro creature viventi che diceva con una voce simile al tuono: «Vieni!» E vidi apparire un cavallo bianco. Il suo cavaliere aveva un arco, e gli fu posta sul capo una corona. Egli partì veloce, trionfante, per vincere molte battaglie.

Quando lʼAgnello ruppe il secondo sigillo, udii la seconda creatura vivente che diceva: «Vieni!».

Questa volta apparve un cavallo rosso. Al suo cavaliere fu data una lunga spada e il potere di togliere la pace dalla terra, così che gli uomini si uccidessero fra di loro e ovunque scoppiassero guerre.

Quando lʼAgnello ruppe il terzo sigillo, udii la terza creatura vivente che diceva: «Vieni!» E vidi apparire un cavallo nero. Il suo cavaliere aveva in mano una bilancia. In mezzo alle quattro creature viventi udii come una voce che diceva: «Tempo di carestia: per un chilo di grano, la paga di una giornata, per tre chili dʼorzo, la paga di una giornata, olio e vino non siano sprecati».

Quando lʼAgnello ruppe il quarto sigillo, udii la quarta creatura vivente che diceva: «Vieni!» Questa volta vidi arrivare un cavallo grigiastro e il nome del suo cavaliere era «Morte», gli teneva dietro il regno dei morti. A loro fu dato su un quarto della terra il potere di uccidere con le guerre, le carestie, le epidemie e le bestie feroci.

Quando lʼAgnello aprì il quinto sigillo, vidi un altare sotto cui stavano le anime di quelli che erano stati uccisi per la loro fedeltà alla parola di Dio e per la loro testimonianza.

10 Essi chiamavano il Signore ad alta voce e dicevano: «Fino a quando, o Sovrano vero e santo, aspetterai a giudicare gli abitanti della terra per quello che ci hanno fatto? Quando chiederai loro conto del nostro sangue?» 11 Ad ognuno di loro fu data una veste bianca e fu detto di aspettare in pace ancora un poʼ di tempo, finché non fosse completo il numero dei loro compagni di fede, cioè dei loro fratelli che dovevano essere messi a morte come loro.

12 Quando vidi lʼAgnello rompere il sesto sigillo ci fu un tremendo terremoto. Il sole divenne nero come il carbone e la luna si fece rosso sangue. 13 Allora le stelle caddero dal cielo sulla terra, come i fichi acerbi cadono dallʼalbero scosso da un vento impetuoso. 14 Il cielo si ritirò come una pergamena che sʼarrotola, e tutte le montagne e le isole furono spostate. 15 I re della terra, i governanti, i generali, i ricchi, i potenti, tutti gli uomini grandi e piccoli, liberi e schiavi, corsero a rifugiarsi nelle spelonche e nelle caverne delle montagne, 16 gridando ai monti e alle rocce: «Cadeteci addosso e nascondeteci alla vista di Dio, che è seduto sul trono, e dallʼira dellʼAgnello, 17 perché il grande giorno della resa dei conti è ormai arrivato! Chi potrà mai sopravvivere?»