Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

¹⁰ Then he said to them, ^(A)“Nation will rise against nation, and ^(B)kingdom against kingdom.

⁸ For ^(A)nation will rise against nation, and ^(B)kingdom against kingdom. There will be ^(C)earthquakes in various places; there will be ^(D)famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates ^(A)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

¹³ And ^(A)on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that ^(B)each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.

⁵ In those times there was no peace ^(A)to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress.

² And I looked, and behold, ^(A)a white horse! And ^(B)its rider had a bow, and ^(C)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(D)conquering, and to conquer.

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

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

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(L)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(M)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 ^(N)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(O)by wild beasts of the earth.

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

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(AC)there was a great earthquake, and ^(AD)the sun became black as ^(AE)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,

² For ^(A)I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and ^(B)the city shall be taken ^(C)and the houses plundered ^(D)and the women raped. ^(E)Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. ^3 (F)Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.