¹ Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a thunderous voice, “Come!”

² So 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

³ And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

⁴ Then 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

⁵ And 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.

⁶ And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,¹ and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.”

1. 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 day’s wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.

The Fourth Seal: Death

⁷ And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

⁸ Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s 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

⁹ And 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.

¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”

¹¹ Then 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

¹² And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,

¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind.

¹⁴ The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

¹⁵ Then 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.

¹⁶ And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us¹ from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.

1. See Hosea 10:8.

¹⁷ For the great day of Their¹ wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

1. BYZ and TR His