1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a ^vwhite horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out ^wconquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, ^xbright 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.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a ^yblack horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^z“A quart¹ of wheat for a denarius,² and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^ado not harm the oil and wine!”

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a ^bpale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, ^cand Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^dwith sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the ^ealtar ^fthe souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^gholy and true, how long before you will judge and ^havenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a ⁱwhite robe and told to ^jrest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers³ should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great ^kearthquake, and ^lthe sun became ^mblack as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and ⁿthe stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 ^oThe sky vanished like a scroll that is being ^prolled up, and ^qevery mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave⁴ and free, ^rhid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, ^s“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the ^tgreat day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the ^useal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, ^v“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God ^won their foreheads.” 4 And ^xI heard the number of the sealed, ^y144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, ^zfrom every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the ^aLamb, clothed in ^bwhite robes, with ^cpalm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation ^dbelongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the ^efour living creatures, and they ^ffell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, ^g“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the ^hgreat tribulation. They have ⁱwashed their robes and made them ^jwhite in the blood of the Lamb.

1 When the Lamb opened the ^rseventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.