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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Revelation 6:8

6And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.” 7When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and the one who sat on it had the name Death, and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, and famine, and plague, and by the wild animals of the earth. 9When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live 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

• I lookedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• and beholdἰδούidou · look!G2400
• ashenχλωρόςchlōros · greenG5515
• horseἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
• and the one who satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
• on it had the nameὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• Deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• Hadesᾍδηςhadēs · hell: HadesG86
• was followingἀκολουθέωakoloutheō · to followG190
• with him. Authorityἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• was givenδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• to them overἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• to killἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• and famineλιμόςlimos · hungerG3042
• and by the wildθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342

Cross-references for Revelation 6:8

• Zechariah 6:3with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong spotted horses.
• Revelation 20:13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds.
• Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.
• Hosea 13:14Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? Death, where are your thorns? Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
• Habakkuk 2:5Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man, So that he does not achieve his objective. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all the nations And collects to himself all the peoples.
• 1 Corinthians 15:55Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
• Revelation 8:7The first sounded, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
• Revelation 9:15And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.
• Revelation 12:4And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child.
• Leviticus 26:22I will also let loose among you the animals of the field, which will deprive you of your children and eliminate your cattle, and reduce your number so that your roads become deserted.
• Jeremiah 15:2And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’
• Jeremiah 16:4“They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”
• Jeremiah 43:11He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.
• Ezekiel 5:15So it will be a disgrace, an object of abuse, a warning, and an object of horror to the nations that surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging reprimands. I, the Lord, have spoken.
• Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it, and eliminate from it both human and animal life,

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