New King James Version
Revelation 6:4
4Another 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. 3When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 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. 5When 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. 6And I heard 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 the 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, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.
- Revelation 17:3So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
- Zechariah 1:8I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white.
- Zechariah 6:2With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,
- Revelation 13:10He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
- Exodus 9:16But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
- Isaiah 37:26“Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.
- Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.
- Daniel 2:37You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory;
- Daniel 5:19And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
- John 19:11Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
- Psalms 17:13Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
- Isaiah 10:5“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
- Ezekiel 30:24I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries