Revelation 6:5

Revelation 6:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
• New International Version (NIV)When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.

Context of Revelation 6:5

3When He (the Lamb) broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come.” 4And another, a fiery red horse [of bloodshed], came out; and its rider was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that men would slaughter one another; and a great sword [of war and violent death] was given to him. When He (the Lamb) broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse [of famine]; and the rider had in his hand a pair of scales (a balance). 6And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius (a day’s wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.” 7When He (the Lamb) broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come.”

Revelation 6:5 word by word

Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξεν τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν τρίτην, ἤκουσα τοῦ τρίτου ζῴου λέγοντος· ἔρχου καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἵππος μέλας καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἔχων ζυγὸν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
• he had openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
• the thirdτρίτοςtritos · thirdG5154
• sealσφραγίςsphragis · sealG4973
• I heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• beastζῷονzōon · living thingG2226
• sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• seeβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• I beheldὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• a blackμέλαςmelas · blackG3189
• horseἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
• heὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• that satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a pair of balancesζυγόςzugos · yoke/scalesG2218
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• handχείρcheir · handG5495

Cross-references for Revelation 6:5

• Revelation 6:1Then I saw as the Lamb (Christ) broke one of the seven seals [of the scroll initiating the judgments], and I heard one of the four living creatures call out as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”
• Revelation 4:6and in front of the throne there was something like a sea or large expanse of glass, like [the clearest] crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them].
• Revelation 5:5Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals.”
• Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses (war, bloodshed), the second chariot had black horses (famine, death),
• Leviticus 26:26When I break your staff of bread [that is, cut off your supply of food], ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will ration your bread; and you will eat and not be satisfied.
• Lamentations 5:10Our skin is as hot as [the heat of] an oven Because of the burning heat of [the fever of] famine.
• Ezekiel 4:10The food you eat each day shall be [measured] by weight, twenty shekels, to be eaten daily at a set time.

Commentaries on Revelation 6:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The third beast - That which had the face of a man. A black horse - The emblem of famine. Some think that which took place under Claudius. See Matthew 24:7; the same which was predicted by Agabus, Acts 11:28. A pair of balances - To show that the scarcity would be such, that every person must be put under an allowance.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And when he had opened the third seal - Unfolding another portion of the volume. See the notes on Revelation 5:1. I heard the third beast say, Come and see - See the notes on Revelation 4:7. It is not apparent why the third beast is represented as taking a particular interest in the opening of this seal (compare the notes on Revelation 6:3), nor is it necessary to show why it was so. The general design seems to have been, to represent each one of the four…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The black horse represents economic and social trouble. The rider carries scales, which were used in ancient commerce, to show this problem. The vision shows extreme inflation. A worker would have to spend a full day’s wages to buy one loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley. But the prices of luxury items, such as oil and wine, would stay the same. This is a picture of severe social and economic imbalance.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Come and see--The two oldest manuscripts, A, C, and Vulgate omit "and see." B retains the words. black--implying sadness and want. had--Greek, "having." a pair of balances--the symbol of scarcity of provisions, the bread being doled out by weight.Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 6:5

• Animals
• Famine
• Horse
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Balance
• Colour
• Conquer
• Hurt
• Mighty
• Shake
• Color; Colors
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Ethics
• Horse, Black

Commentaries on Revelation 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings