² And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

¹¹ And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.

⁹ So I told them, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!”

¹² When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.”

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.

¹² A third of your people will die in the city from disease and famine. A third of them will be slaughtered by the enemy outside the city walls. And I will scatter a third to the winds, chasing them with my sword.

² Place a third of it at the center of your map of Jerusalem. After acting out the siege, burn it there. Scatter another third across your map and chop it with a sword. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will scatter my people with the sword.

³ When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” ⁴ Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.

⁵ When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay.^[a] And don’t waste^[b] the olive oil and wine.”

⁷ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” ⁸ I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave.^[c] These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease^[d] and wild animals.