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

6Then I heard something like 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—but do no harm to the oil and wine!” 7When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” Behold, I saw a horse, pale greenish gray. The name of the one riding on it was Death, and Sheol was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword and by famine and by plague and by the wild beasts of the earth. 9When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slaughtered for the sake of the word of God and for the witness they had. 10And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “O Sovereign Master, holy and true, how long before You judge those who dwell on the earth and avenge our blood?”

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 chariot white horses and the fourth chariot had strong dapple horses.
• Revelation 20:13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Sheol gave up the dead in them. Then they were each judged, each one of them, according to their deeds.
• Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever. my Lord Adonai will wipe away tears from every face. He will remove His people’s reproach from all the earth. For Adonai has spoken.
• Hosea 13:14Should I ransom them from the hand of Sheol? Should I redeem them from death? O death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Comfort is hidden from My eyes.”
• Habakkuk 2:5Indeed, because this wine betrays, a proud man never rests. He enlarges his desire like Sheol, Like death, he is never satisfied. So he gathers to himself all nations, and collects all peoples for himself.
• 1 Corinthians 15:55“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
• Revelation 8:7The first trumpeted, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown upon the earth. A third of the earth burned up, a third of the trees burned up, and all the green grass burned up.
• Revelation 9:15So the four angels—who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year—were released to kill a third of mankind.
• Revelation 12:4His tail sweeps away a third of the stars of heaven—it hurled them to the earth. Now the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that whenever she gave birth he might devour her child.
• Leviticus 26:22I will send the wild animals among you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you so few in number that your roads will become deserted.
• Jeremiah 15:2It will come to pass, when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ Then You will tell them, thus says Adonai: “Those for death—to death! Those for the sword—to the sword! Those for famine—to famine! Those for exile—to exile!
• Jeremiah 16:4They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be lamented or buried, but will be like dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and famine, and their carcasses will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
• Jeremiah 43:11Yes, he will come, and will strike the land of Egypt. Those for death—to death! Those for exile—to exile! Those for the sword—to the sword!
• Ezekiel 5:15When I execute judgment upon you in anger, rage and furious chastisement, you will be a mockery and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the surrounding nations: I, Adonai, have spoken it.
• Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, suppose a land sins against Me by trespassing grievously and I stretch out My hand over it, break off its staff of bread, send famine upon it and cut it off from man and beast.

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