Revelation 6
New Testament · English Majority Text Version with Greek parallel
Revelation chapter 6 is given here in full, verse by verse, in the English Majority Text Version (EMTV), with the Byzantine Majority Text set beneath each verse. The text follows the Byzantine textual tradition used in the Orthodox Church.
9 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Victorinus of Pettau.
Revelation 6
1And I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings saying, like a voice of thunder, “Come.”Καὶ εἶδον ὅτι ἤνοιξε τὸ ἀρνίον μίαν ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ σφραγίδων, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων ζῴων λέγοντος ὡς φωνὴ βροντῆς, Ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε.
2And behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering, and to conquer.καὶ ἰδού, ἵππος λευκός, καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἔχων τόξον· καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ στέφανος, καὶ ἐξῆλθε νικῶν καὶ ἵνα νικήσῃ.
3And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living being saying, “Come!”Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξε τὴν δευτέραν σφραγῖδα, ἤκουσα τοῦ δευτέρου ζῴου λέγοντος, Ἔρχου.
4Another horse went out, fiery red, and it was granted to him that sat on it to take peace from the earth, so that they might kill each other; and there was given to him a great sword.καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἄλλος ἵππος πυρός, καὶ τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐδόθη αὐτῷ λαβεῖν τὴν εἰρήνην ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἵνα ἀλλήλους σφάξωσι, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ μάχαιρα μεγάλη.
5And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come.” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξε τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν τρίτην, ἤκουσα τοῦ τρίτου ζῴου λέγοντος, Ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε. καὶ ἰδού, ἵππος μέλας, καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἔχων ζυγὸν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ.
6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living beings, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm the oil and the wine.”καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν τεσσάρων ζῴων λέγουσαν, Χοῖνιξ σίτου δηναρίου, καὶ τρεῖς χοίνικες κριθῆς δηναρίου· καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον καὶ τὸν οἶνον μὴ ἀδικήσῃς.
7And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being saying, “Come.”Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξε τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν τετάρτην, ἤκουσα τοῦ τετάρτου ζῴου λέγοντος, Ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε.
8And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it was named Death, and Hades was following him. And authority was given to him over a fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.καὶ ἰδού, ἵππος χλωρός, καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ὄνομα αὐτῷ ὁ Θάνατος, καὶ ὁ ᾍδης ἠκολούθει αὐτῷ. καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ τὸ τέταρτον τῆς γῆς ἀποκτεῖναι ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ ἐν λιμῷ καὶ ἐν θανάτῳ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς.
9And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξε τὴν πέμπτην σφραγῖδα, εἶδον ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐσφαγμένων διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τοῦ ἀρνίου ἣν εἶχον.
10And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”καὶ ἔκραξαν φωνὴν μεγάλην λέγοντες, Ἕως πότε, ὁ Δεσπότης, ὁ ἅγιος καὶ ἀληθινός, οὐ κρίνεις καὶ ἐκδικεῖς τὸ αἷμα ἡμῶν ἐκ τῶν κατοικούντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς;
11And a long white robe was given to them, and it was said to them that they should rest yet a while, until also their fellow servants and their brothers, who were about to be killed as also they were, should complete their course.καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς στολὴ λευκή, καὶ ἐρρέθη αὐτοῖς ἵνα ἀναπαύσωνται ἔτι χρόνον, ἕως πληρώσωσι καὶ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ μέλλοντες ἀποκτένεσθαι ὡς καὶ αὐτοί.
12And I saw when He opened the sixth seal, that there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became like blood.Καὶ εἶδον ὅτε ἤνοιξε τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν ἕκτην, καὶ σεισμὸς μέγας ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ ἥλιος μέλας ἐγένετο ὡς σάκκος τρίχινος, καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὅλη ἐγένετο ὡς αἷμα,
13And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, like a fig tree casting its untimely figs, being shaken by a mighty wind.καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔπεσον εἰς τὴν γῆν, ὡς συκῆ βαλοῦσα τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου μεγάλου σειομένη.
14Then the sky was split like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island were removed out of their places.καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπεχωρίσθη ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενος, καὶ πᾶν ὄρος καὶ νῆσος ἐκ τῶν τόπων αὐτῶν ἐκινήθησαν.
15And the kings of the earth, and the magnates and the high-ranking military men, and the rich and the mighty, and every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the crags of the mountains.καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς καὶ οἱ μεγιστᾶνες καὶ οἱ χιλίαρχοι καὶ οἱ πλούσιοι καὶ οἱ ἰσχυροὶ καὶ πᾶς δοῦλος καὶ ἐλεύθερος ἔκρυψαν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὰ σπήλαια καὶ εἰς τὰς πέτρας τῶν ὀρέων.
16And they said to the mountains and crags, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb!καὶ λέγουσι τοῖς ὄρεσι καὶ ταῖς πέτραις, Πέσετε ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ κρύψατε ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τῷ θρόνῳ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου,
17For the great day of His wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?”ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ τίς δύναται σταθῆναι;
The Fathers on Revelation 6
Victorinus of Pettau comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Revelation 6:1–2Victorinus of Pettau1, 2. “And when the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I saw, and heard one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see. And, lo, a white horse, and He who sat upon him had a bow.” ] The first seal being opened, he says that he saw a white horse, and a crowned horseman having a bow. For this was at first...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:3–4Victorinus of Pettau3, 4. “And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red, and to him that sat upon him was given a great sword.”] The red horse, and he that sat upon him, having a sword, signify the coming wars, as we read in the Gospel: “For...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:5Victorinus of Pettau5. “And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a black horse; and he who sat upon it had a balance in his hand.”] The black horse signifies famine, for the Lord says, “There shall be famines in divers places;” but the word is specially extended to the times...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:6Victorinus of Pettau6. “Hurt not the wine and the oil.”] That is, strike not the spiritual man with thy inflictions. This is the black horse.
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:7–8Victorinus of Pettau7, 8. “And when He had opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a pale horse; and he who sat upon him was named Death.”] For the pale horse and he who sat upon him bore the name of Death. These same things also the Lord had promised among the rest of the coming...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:9Victorinus of Pettau9. “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain.”] He relates that he saw under the altar of God, that is, under the earth, the souls of them that were slain. For both heaven and earth are called God’s altar, as saith the law, commanding in the symbolical form of the...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:12Victorinus of Pettau12. “And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake.”] In the sixth seal, then, was a great earthquake: this is that very last persecution. “And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair.”] The sun becomes as sackcloth; that is, the brightness of doctrine will be obscured by unbelievers....
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:13Victorinus of Pettau13. “And the stars fell to the earth.”] The falling of the stars are the faithful who are troubled for Christ’s sake. “Even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs.”] The fig-tree, when shaken, loses its untimely figs—when men are separated from the Church by persecution.
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 6:14Open Revelation 6 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Victorinus of Pettau14. “And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled up.”] For the heaven to be rolled away, that is, that the Church shall be taken away. “And every mountain and the islands were moved from their places.”] Mountains and islands removed from their places intimate that in the last persecution all men departed from...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →