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 a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.” 7When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” 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. 9When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. 10They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”

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 by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses.
• Revelation 20:13The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.
• Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!
• Hosea 13:14“Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.
• Habakkuk 2:5Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
• 1 Corinthians 15:55O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
• Revelation 8:7The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.
• Revelation 9:15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth.
• Revelation 12:4His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.
• Leviticus 26:22I will send wild animals that will rob you of your children and destroy your livestock. Your numbers will dwindle, and your roads will be deserted.
• Jeremiah 15:2And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, to famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’
• Jeremiah 16:4They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.”
• Jeremiah 43:11And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.
• Ezekiel 5:15You will become an object of mockery and taunting and horror. You will be a warning to all the nations around you. They will see what happens when the Lord punishes a nation in anger and rebukes it, says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy 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

• 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