Revelation 6
King James Version
6 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
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.
Apocalipsis 6
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Los primeros cuatro sellos
6 Entonces vi cuando el Cordero(A) abrió uno de los siete sellos(B), y oí a uno de los cuatro seres vivientes(C) que decía, como con voz de trueno(D): «Ven[a]». 2 Miré, y había un caballo blanco(E). El que estaba montado en él tenía un arco. Se le dio una corona(F), y salió conquistando y para conquistar(G).
3 Cuando el Cordero abrió el segundo sello, oí al segundo ser viviente(H) que decía: «Ven». 4 Entonces salió otro caballo, rojo(I). Al que estaba montado en él se le concedió quitar la paz de la tierra(J) y que los hombres se mataran unos a otros; y se le dio una gran espada.
5 Cuando el Cordero abrió el tercer sello, oí al tercer ser viviente(K) que decía: «Ven». Y miré, y había un caballo negro(L). El que estaba montado en él tenía una balanza en la mano(M). 6 Y oí como una voz en medio de los cuatro seres vivientes(N) que decía: «Un litro de trigo por un denario[b], y tres litros de cebada por un denario, y no dañes el aceite y el vino(O)».
7 Cuando el Cordero abrió el cuarto sello, oí la voz del cuarto ser viviente(P) que decía: «Ven». 8 Y miré, y había un caballo amarillento[c](Q). El que estaba montado en él se llamaba Muerte(R), y el Hades[d](S) lo seguía. Y se les dio autoridad sobre la cuarta parte de la tierra(T), para matar con espada, con hambre, con pestilencia[e] y con las fieras de la tierra.
El quinto sello
9 Cuando el Cordero abrió el quinto sello, vi debajo(U) del altar(V) las almas(W) de los que habían sido muertos a causa de la palabra de Dios(X) y del testimonio que habían mantenido(Y). 10 Clamaban a gran voz(Z): «¿Hasta cuándo, oh Señor[f](AA) santo(AB) y verdadero, esperarás para juzgar(AC) y vengar[g] nuestra sangre de los que moran en la tierra(AD)?». 11 Y se les dio a cada uno de ellos una vestidura blanca(AE), y se les dijo que descansaran un poco más de tiempo(AF), hasta que se completara(AG) también el número(AH) de sus consiervos y de sus hermanos que habrían de ser muertos como ellos lo habían sido.
El sexto sello
12 Vi cuando el Cordero abrió el sexto sello, y hubo un gran terremoto(AI), y el sol se puso negro(AJ) como cilicio(AK) hecho de cerda, y toda la luna se volvió como sangre, 13 y las estrellas del cielo cayeron a la tierra(AL), como la higuera(AM) deja caer sus higos verdes al ser sacudida por un fuerte viento. 14 El cielo desapareció[h] como un pergamino[i] que se enrolla(AN), y todo monte e isla fueron removidos de su lugar(AO).
15 Los reyes de la tierra(AP), y los grandes, los comandantes[j], los ricos, los poderosos, y todo siervo y todo libre, se escondieron en las cuevas y entre las peñas de los montes, 16 y decían* a los montes y a las peñas(AQ): «Caigan sobre nosotros y escóndannos de la presencia[k] de Aquel que está sentado en el trono(AR) y de la ira del Cordero(AS). 17 Porque ha llegado el gran día de la ira de ellos(AT), ¿y quién podrá[l] sostenerse[m](AU)?».
Footnotes
- Apocalipsis 6:1 Algunos mss. agregan: y ve; también en los vers. 3, 5 y 7.
- Apocalipsis 6:6 I.e. salario de un día.
- Apocalipsis 6:8 O de color muy pálido.
- Apocalipsis 6:8 I.e. región de los muertos.
- Apocalipsis 6:8 O muerte.
- Apocalipsis 6:10 O Dueño.
- Apocalipsis 6:10 Lit. no juzgas y vengas.
- Apocalipsis 6:14 Lit. se separó.
- Apocalipsis 6:14 Lit. rollo o libro.
- Apocalipsis 6:15 Gr. quiliarcas; i.e. oficiales militares romanos al mando de mil soldados.
- Apocalipsis 6:16 Lit. del rostro.
- Apocalipsis 6:17 Lit. puede.
- Apocalipsis 6:17 O mantenerse en pie.
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