Revelation 6
Living Bible
6 As I watched, the Lamb broke the first seal and began to unroll the scroll. Then one of the four Living Beings, with a voice that sounded like thunder, said, “Come!”
2 I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed upon his head; he rode out to conquer in many battles and win the war.
3 Then he unrolled the scroll to the second seal and broke it open, too. And I heard the second Living Being say, “Come!”
4 This time a red horse rode out. Its rider was given a long sword and the authority to banish peace and bring anarchy to the earth; war and killing broke out everywhere.
5 When he had broken the third seal, I heard the third Living Being say, “Come!” And I saw a black horse, with its rider holding a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And a voice from among the four Living Beings said, “A loaf of bread for $20, or three pounds of barley flour,
7 And when the fourth seal was broken, I heard the fourth Living Being say, “Come!” 8 And now I saw a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. And there followed after him another horse whose rider’s name was Hell. They were given control of one-fourth of the earth, to kill with war and famine and disease and wild animals.
9 And when he broke open the fifth seal, I saw an altar, and underneath it all the souls of those who had been martyred for preaching the Word of God and for being faithful in their witnessing. 10 They called loudly to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge the people of the earth for what they’ve done to us? When will you avenge our blood against those living on the earth?” 11 White robes were given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer until their other brothers, fellow servants of Jesus, had been martyred on the earth and joined them.
12 I watched as he broke the sixth seal, and there was a vast earthquake; and the sun became dark like black cloth, and the moon was blood-red. 13 Then the stars of heaven appeared to be falling to earth[b]—like green fruit from fig trees buffeted by mighty winds. 14 And the starry heavens disappeared[c] as though rolled up like a scroll and taken away; and every mountain and island shook and shifted. 15 The kings of the earth, and world leaders, and rich men, and high-ranking military officers, and all men great and small, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and rocks of the mountains, 16 and cried to the mountains to crush them. “Fall on us,” they pleaded, “and hide us from the face of the one sitting on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of their anger has come, and who can survive it?”
Footnotes
- Revelation 6:6 A loaf of bread for $20, or three pounds of barley flour, literally, “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius” there is no olive oil or wine, literally, “do not damage the oil and wine.”
- Revelation 6:13 appeared to be falling to earth, literally, “fell to the earth.”
- Revelation 6:14 the starry heavens disappeared, literally, “the sky departed.”
Revelation 6
Amplified Bible
The First Seal—The Conqueror
6 Then I saw as the Lamb (Christ) broke one of the seven [a]seals [of the scroll initiating the judgments], and I heard one of the four living creatures call out as with a voice of thunder, “[b]Come.” 2 I looked, and behold, a [c]white horse [of victory] whose rider carried a [d]bow; and a crown [of victory] was given to him, and he rode forth conquering and to conquer.(A)
The Second Seal—War
3 When He (the Lamb) broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come.” 4 And another, a [e]fiery red horse [of bloodshed], came out; and its rider was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that men would slaughter one another; and a great sword [of war and violent death] was given to him.(B)
The Third Seal—Famine
5 When He (the Lamb) broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse [of famine]; and the rider had in his hand a pair of scales (a balance).(C) 6 And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius (a day’s wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not [f]damage the oil and the wine.”(D)
The Fourth Seal—Death
7 When He (the Lamb) broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come.” 8 So I looked, and behold, an ashen (pale greenish gray) horse [like a corpse, representing death and pestilence]; and its rider’s name was Death; and Hades (the realm of the dead) was following with him. They were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword and with famine and with [g]plague (pestilence, disease) and by the wild beasts of the earth.(E)
The Fifth Seal—Martyrs
9 When He (the Lamb) broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained [out of loyalty to Christ]. 10 They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?”(F) 11 Then they were each given a white robe; and they were told to rest and wait quietly for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed.
The Sixth Seal—Terror
12 I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as [h]sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;(G) 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree shedding its late [summer] figs when shaken by a strong wind.(H) 14 The sky was split [separated from the land] and rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island were dislodged and moved out of their places. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the [i]military commanders and the wealthy and the strong and everyone, [whether] slave or free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the [righteous] wrath and indignation of the Lamb;(I) 17 for the great day of their wrath and vengeance and retribution has come, and who is able to [face God and] stand [before the wrath of the Lamb]?”(J)
Footnotes
- Revelation 6:1 A seal, sphragis, could only be broken by the one who has authority over it. In breaking the seals and disclosing God’s judgments, Christ demonstrated His own divine authority over creation.
- Revelation 6:1 One early ms reads Come and see. Also vv 3, 5, 7.
- Revelation 6:2 Some interpreters note that the rabbis said that if one sees a white horse in a dream, it is a good sign (Talmud). Jewish believers who heard these words being read in their church (see 1:3) probably would think that the vision indicated Israel would soon be freed from foreign domination. In the Roman world a white horse was a symbol of victory in battle. In this case the peace is deceptive because it will not be lasting. Other interpreters argue that the horseman represents the conquering Christ, as in 19:11.
- Revelation 6:2 Without an arrow (if arrows are not to be assumed) the bow may symbolize a bloodless victory or conquest.
- Revelation 6:4 In contrast to the white horse, the rabbis said that if one saw a red horse walking gently, it was a good sign, but if the horse was galloping, it was a bad sign. It was also said that the man riding the red horse in Zechariah’s vision (Zech 1:8) was a sign that God intended to turn the whole world into blood (Talmud).
- Revelation 6:6 This may be a warning to be very careful handling olive oil and wine, which ordinarily are basic commodities, because famine will make them very expensive. The vision indicates that famine and inflation will take such a toll that a laborer will earn only enough to feed himself with wheat, or to provide barley for a small family. He will have almost nothing left for clothing, shelter, and incidentals.
- Revelation 6:8 Or death.
- Revelation 6:12 This was a coarse, uncomfortable material usually made of black goat hair and customarily worn as a sign of mourning or repentance.
- Revelation 6:15 Lit chiliarchs, a Greek word literally meaning a ruler (commander) of a thousand men, but used generally of high-ranking military officers.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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