English Standard Version
Revelation 6:4
4And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Revelation 6:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
- New International Version (NIV)Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.
Context of Revelation 6:4
2And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 3When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 5When 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. 6And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of 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!"
Read all of Revelation 6Revelation 6:4 word by word
καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἄλλος ἵππος πυρρός. καὶ τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐδόθη αὐτῷ λαβεῖν τὴν εἰρήνην ἐκ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἵνα ἀλλήλους σφάξουσιν. καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ μάχαιρα μεγάλη.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- there went outἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
- anotherἄλλοςallos · anotherG243
- horseἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
- redπυρρόςpurrhos · fiery redG4450
- was givenδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
- to himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- that satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
- ·ἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- to takeλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
- peaceὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- peaceεἰρήνηeirēnē · peaceG1515
- fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
- the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
- thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- they should killσφάζωsphazō · to slaughterG4969
- one anotherἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240
- a greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- swordμάχαιραmachaira · swordG3162
Cross-references for Revelation 6:4
- Revelation 12:3And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
- Revelation 17:3And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.
- Zechariah 1:8"I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
- Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
- Revelation 13:10If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
- Exodus 9:16But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
- Isaiah 37:26"'Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins,
- Ezekiel 29:18"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her.
- Daniel 2:37You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,
- Daniel 5:19And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.
- John 19:11Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin."
- Psalms 17:13Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
- Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!
- Ezekiel 30:24And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded.
Commentaries on Revelation 6:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Another horse - red - The emblem of war; perhaps also of severe persecution, and the martyrdom of the saints. Him that sat thereon - Same say, Christ; others, Vespasian; others, the Roman armies; others, Artabanus, king of the Parthians, etc., etc. Take peace from the earth - To deprive Judea of all tranquillity. They should kill one another - This was literally the case with the Jews, while besieged by the Romans. A great sword - Great influence and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And there went out another horse - In this symbol there were, as in the others, several particulars which it is proper to explain in order that we may be able to understand its application. The particular things in the symbol are the following: (a) The horse. See this explained in the notes on Revelation 6:2. (b) The color of the horse: another horse that was red. This symbol cannot be mistaken. As the white horse denoted prosperity, triumph, and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The red horse symbolizes bloody violence on earth. The Roman Empire promised peace (the pax Romana), but widespread violence was the grim reality. This rider represents slaughter, including civil unrest and ethnic cleansing.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. red--the color of blood. The color of the horse in each case answers to the mission of the rider. Compare Mt 10:24-36, "Think not I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." The white horse of Christ's bloodless victories is soon followed, through man's perversion of the Gospel, by the red horse of bloodshed; but this is overruled to the clearing away of the obstacles to Christ's coming kingdom. The patient ox is the…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 6:4
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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