New English Translation
Revelation 6:8
8So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.
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
6Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” 7Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. 9Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 10They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”
Read all of Revelation 6Revelation 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 6:3to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong.
- Revelation 20:13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
- Isaiah 25:8he will swallow up death permanently. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it!
- Hosea 13:14Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!
- Habakkuk 2:5Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol’s; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples.
- 1 Corinthians 15:55“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
- Revelation 8:7The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
- Revelation 9:15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour, day, month, and year were set free to kill a third of humanity.
- Revelation 12:4Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.
- Leviticus 26:22I will send the wild animals against you and they will bereave you of your children, annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population so that your roads will become deserted.
- Jeremiah 15:2If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”
- Jeremiah 16:4They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.
- Jeremiah 43:11He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war.
- Ezekiel 5:15You will be an object of scorn and taunting, a prime example of destruction among the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger and raging fury. I, the Lord, have spoken!
- Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals.
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
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries