Revised Literal Translation
Revelation 6:8
8And 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.
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 in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 7And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 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. 9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
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
- 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 6:3And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.
- Revelation 20:13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
- Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord Yhwh will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for Yhwh hath spoken it.
- Hosea 13:14I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
- Habakkuk 2:5Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
- 1 Corinthians 15:55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
- Revelation 8:7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
- Revelation 9:15And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
- Revelation 12:4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
- Leviticus 26:22I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
- Jeremiah 15:2And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith Yhwh; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
- Jeremiah 16:4They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 43:11And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
- Ezekiel 5:15So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I Yhwh have spoken it.
- Ezekiel 14:13Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries