Revelation 6:8

Revelation 6:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
• New Living Translation (NLT)I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.

Context of Revelation 6:8

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!" And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. 9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

Revelation 6:8 word by word

καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἵππος χλωρὸς καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ὄνομα αὐτῷ ὁ θάνατος. καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἠκολούθει μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἐξουσία ἐπὶ τὸ τέταρτον τῆς γῆς ἀποκτεῖναι ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ ἐν λιμῷ καὶ ἐν θανάτῳ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• I lookedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• a paleχλωρόςchlōros · greenG5515
• horseἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• nameὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• thatὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
• onἐπάνωepanō · aboveG1883
• was Deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• Hellᾍδηςhadēs · hell: HadesG86
• followedἀκολουθέωakoloutheō · to followG190
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• was givenδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• overἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the fourth partτέταρτοςtetartos · fourthG5067
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• to killἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• swordῥομφαίαrhomphaia · swordG4501
• hungerλιμόςlimos · hungerG3042
• withὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• the beastsθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342

Cross-references for Revelation 6:8

• Zechariah 6:3the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.
• Revelation 20:13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
• Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
• Hosea 13:14I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
• Habakkuk 2:5"Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples."
• 1 Corinthians 15:55"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
• Revelation 8:7The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
• Revelation 9:15So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
• Revelation 12:4His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
• Leviticus 26:22And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted.
• Jeremiah 15:2And when they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord: "'Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.'
• Jeremiah 16:4They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.
• Jeremiah 43:11He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword.
• Ezekiel 5:15You shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations all around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken—
• Ezekiel 14:13"Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast,

Commentaries on Revelation 6:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8A pale horse - The symbol of death. Pallida mors, pale death, was a very usual poetic epithet; of this symbol there can be no doubt, because it is immediately said, His name that sat on him was Death. And hell followed with him - The grave, or state of the dead, received the slain. This is a very elegant prosopopaeia, or personification. Over the fourth part of the earth - One fourth of mankind was to feel the desolating effects of this seal. To kill with…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8And I looked, and behold a pale horse - - ̔́ ̀ hippos chlōrosOn the horse, as an emblem, see the notes on Revelation 6:2. The uniqueness of this emblem consists in the color of the horse, the rider, and the power that was given unto him. In these there is entire harmony, and there can be comparatively little difficulty in the explanation and application. The color of the horse was “pale” - ̀ chlōrosThis word properly means “pale-green, yellowish-green,”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8When the fourth seal is opened, a terrifying horse appears. In the ancient world, a pale green color was used to show the color of a dead body. Hades: In Greek thought, Hades was the underworld for spirits without bodies. The Hebrew concept of Sheol, the place of the dead (1 Samuel 28:15), was similar. The death of one-fourth of the people on earth shows that the final judgment has not yet come (contrast Revelation 6:16–17). This set of four woes (sword…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. pale--"livid" [Alford]. Death--personified. Hell--Hades personified. unto them--Death and Hades. So A, C read. But B and Vulgate read, "to him." fourth part of the earth--answering to the first four seals; his portion as one of the four, being a fourth part. death--pestilence; compare Eze 14:21 with the four judgments here, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts; the famine the consequence of the sword; pestilence, that of famine; and beasts…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 6:8

• Animals
• Death
• Famine
• Hades
• Hell
• Horse
• Pale Horse
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Fourth Part
• Conquer
• Hurt
• Mighty
• Shake
• Apollyon
• Authority in Religion
• Baptism (the Baptist Interpretation)
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Ethics

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