Berean Standard Bible
Revelation 6:5
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.
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
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. 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. 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.” 7And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
Read all of Revelation 6Revelation 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
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
- openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
- theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- thirdτρίτοςtritos · thirdG5154
- sealσφραγίςsphragis · sealG4973
- I heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- living creatureζῷονzōon · living thingG2226
- sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- I lookedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- sawἰδούidou · look!G2400
- a blackμέλαςmelas · blackG3189
- horseἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
- its riderκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
- its riderἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- its riderαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- heldἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- handχείρcheir · handG5495
- a pair of scalesζυγόςzugos · yoke/scalesG2218
Cross-references for Revelation 6:5
- Revelation 6:1Then 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!”
- Revelation 4:6And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.
- Revelation 5:5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
- Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
- Leviticus 26:26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
- Lamentations 5:10Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger.
- Ezekiel 4:10You are to weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day, and you are to eat it at set times.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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