The Lamb opens the seals

The first seal

1And I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings saying, like a voice of thunder, “Come!” ¹⁰¹

2And I looked and, wow, a white horse! ¹⁰²And he who sat on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, that is, in order to conquer.

The second seal

3And when He opened the second seal I heard the second living being saying, “Come!” ¹⁰³

4And another horse went out, fiery red, and it was granted to him who sat on it to take the peace from the earth, so that they would slaughter each other; also, a huge sword was given to him.

The third seal

5And when He opened the third seal I heard the third living being saying, “Come!” And I looked and, wow, 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 beings saying: “A ‘quart’ of wheat for a denarius ¹⁰⁴and three ‘quarts’ of barley for a denarius; but do not harm the olive oil and the wine.” ¹⁰⁵

The fourth seal

7And when He opened the fourth seal I heard a voice from the fourth living being saying, “Come!”

8And I looked and, wow, a sickly pale horse! And as for the one sitting upon it, his name is Death, and Hades follows with him. ¹⁰⁶And authority was given to him ¹⁰⁷over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword and by famine and by death, also by the wild animals of the earth. ¹⁰⁸

The fifth seal

9And when He opened the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the souls of the people who had been slaughtered on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony of the Lamb which they held. ¹⁰⁹

10And they cried out with a loud voice saying: “How long, O Sovereign, Holy and True, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

11So a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told that they should rest a while longer, until both their fellow slaves and their brothers, ¹¹⁰who were about to be killed just like they were, should complete the number.

The sixth seal

12And I saw, just when He opened the sixth seal—there was a severe earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

13And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, ¹¹¹like a fig tree drops its late figs when shaken by a strong wind.

14And the sky was split, like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. ¹¹²

15And the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the mighty, and every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹¹³

16And they said to the mountains and the rocks: “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

17Because the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” ¹¹⁴