Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The fiery riders

¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a lone voice from the four horns of the golden altar in God’s presence, ¹⁴ addressing the sixth angel, who had the trumpet.

“Release the four angels,” said the voice, “the ones who are tied up by the Great River, the Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels were released. They had been prepared for this hour, day, month and year, so that they would kill a third of the human race. ¹⁶ The number of the troops and horsemen was two hundred million. (I heard the number.) ¹⁷ As I looked, this is how the horses and their riders appeared. They had breastplates made of fire, sapphire and sulfur. Their heads were like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke and brimstone came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ One-third of the human race was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses, you see, is in their mouths and their tails, since their tails are like serpents with heads. That is how they do their damage.

²⁰ All the other people, the ones who had not been killed in these plagues, did not repent of the things they had made. They did not stop worshiping demons—idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see, hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, or their magic, or their fornication, or their stealing.