EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Revelation 6:5
5Then the Lamb opened the third seal. I heard the next being say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and I saw a black horse. The person who was riding the horse held something in his hand. He used it to weigh things.
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
3Then the Lamb opened the second seal. I heard another of the beings say, ‘Come!’ 4Then another horse came out. This horse was bright red, like fire. The person who was riding the horse had authority. He could take peace away from the earth, so that people killed each other. Someone gave him a large sword. Then the Lamb opened the third seal. I heard the next being say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and I saw a black horse. The person who was riding the horse held something in his hand. He used it to weigh things. 6Then I heard a sound like somebody speaking among the four beings. The voice said, ‘A litre of wheat is worth one day's work. And three litres of barley is also worth one day's work. But do not destroy the olive oil and the wine.’ 7Then the Lamb opened the fourth seal. I heard the last being 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
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 watched while the Lamb opened one of the seven seals on the book. I heard one of the four beings say, ‘Come!’ It spoke very loudly with a voice like thunder.
- Revelation 4:6Also in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass that shone with light. In the middle, round the throne, there were four other beings that were alive. They had eyes all over them, on their fronts and on their backs.
- Revelation 5:5Then one of the leaders said to me, ‘Do not weep! Look! There is someone who can break the seven seals and then open the book. His name is the Lion from Judah's tribe. He is called the Root of King David. He has won over all his enemies.’
- Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses and the second chariot had black horses.
- Leviticus 26:26The people will not have any food. A woman will bake one loaf for ten families. They will weigh it to give one part to each family. When a person eats his piece of bread, he will still be hungry.
- Lamentations 5:10Our skin feels as if we are burning. We are so hungry that we are ill.
- Ezekiel 4:10You should eat 220 grams of food each day. Eat it at the same time each day.
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries