English Standard Version
Revelation 6:5
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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
Context of Revelation 6:5
3When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 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. 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. 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!" 7When he 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
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 6:1Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"
- Revelation 4:6and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
- Revelation 5:5And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."
- Zechariah 6:2The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
- Leviticus 26:26When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
- Lamentations 5:10Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine.
- Ezekiel 4:10And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from day to day you shall eat it.
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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