6:1 THEN I saw as the Lamb broke open one of the seven seals, and as if in a voice of thunder I heard one of the four living creatures call out, Come! |
6:2 And I looked, and saw there a white horse whose rider carried a bow. And a crown was given him, and he rode forth conquering and to conquer. |
6:3 And when He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, Come! |
6:4 And another horse came out, flaming red. And its rider was empowered to take the peace from the earth, so that men slaughtered one another; and he was given a huge sword. |
6:5 When He broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, Come {and look} ! And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and in his hand the rider had a pair of scales (a balance). |
6:6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, A quart of wheat for a denarius [a whole day's wages], and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm the oil and the wine! [II Kings 6:25.] |
6:7 When the Lamb broke open the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature call out, Come! |
6:8 So I looked, and behold, an ashy pale horse [black and blue as if made so by bruising], and its rider's name was Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead) followed him closely. And they were given authority {and} power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and with wild beasts of the earth. |
6:9 When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed for [adhering to] the Word of God and for the testimony they had borne. |
6:10 They cried in a loud voice, O [Sovereign] Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood upon those who dwell on the earth? |
6:11 Then they were each given a long {and} flowing {and} festive white robe and told to rest {and} wait patiently a little while longer, until the number should be complete of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed as they themselves had been. |
6:12 When He [the Lamb] broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun grew black as sackcloth of hair, [the full disc of] the moon became like blood. |
6:13 And the stars of the sky dropped to the earth like a fig tree shedding its unripe fruit out of season when shaken by a strong wind. |
6:14 And the sky rolled up like a scroll {and} vanished, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place. |
6:15 Then the kings of the earth and their noblemen and their magnates and their military chiefs and the wealthy and the strong and [everyone, whether] slave or free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, |
6:16 And they called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on (before) us and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne and from the deep-seated indignation {and} wrath of the Lamb. |
6:17 For the great day of His wrath (vengeance, retribution, indignation) has come, and who is able to stand before it? |