Revelation 6
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 68 – AD 96 · Late apostolic age · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
17 verses · 494 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen
The First Seal: The White Horse
1Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider held a bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer.
The Second Seal: War
3And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
4Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.
The Third Seal: Famine
5And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!”
Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. 6And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.”
The Fourth Seal: Death
7And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
8Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its riderʼs name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.
The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs
9And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. 10And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”
11Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.
The Sixth Seal: Terror
12And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
Footnotes (3)
- a v6 Greek A choenix of wheat for a denarius. A choenix was a Greek dry measure equivalent to 1.92 pints or 0.91 liters. A denarius was customarily a dayʼs wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.
- b v16 See Hosea 10:8.
- c v17 BYZ and TR His
Study notes on this chapter · 1
Say to the mountains: fall on us
On the road to the cross Jesus warns the women of Jerusalem that days of judgment are coming when people will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us', echoing Hosea's words about Israel's ruined shrines. Revelation reuses the image for the terror of the final judgment.
When: Hosea, c. 750–722 BC; Jesus' words on the way to Golgotha, c. AD 30–33.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.