1   Then I watched as the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ 2   And there before my eyes was a white horse, and its rider held a bow. He was given a crown, and he rode forth, conquering and to conquer.

3   When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second creature say, ‘Come!’ 4   And out came another horse, all red. To its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and make men slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword.

5   When he broke the third seal, I heard the third creature say, ‘Come!’ And there, as I looked, was a black horse; and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. 6   And I heard what sounded like a voice from the midst of the living creatures, which said, ‘A whole day's wage for a quart of flour, a whole day's wage for three quarts of barley-meal! But spare the olive and the vine.’

7   When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth creature say, ‘Come!’ 8   And there, as I looked, was another horse, sickly pale; and its rider's name was Death, and Hades came close behind.

The opening of the sealed book To him was given power over a quarter of the earth, with the right to kill by sword and by famine, by pestilence and wild beasts.

9   When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath ^note the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for God's word and for the testimony they bore. 10   They gave a great cry: ‘How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, must it be before thou wilt vindicate us and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?’ 11   Each of them was given a white robe; and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the tally should be complete of all their brothers in Christ's service who were to be killed as they had been.

12   Then I watched as he broke the sixth seal. And there was a violent earthquake; the sun turned black as a funeral pall and the moon all red as blood; 13   the stars in the sky fell to the earth, like figs shaken down by a gale; 14   the sky vanished, as a scroll is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15   Then the kings of the earth, magnates and marshals, the rich and the powerful, and all men, slave or free, hid themselves in caves and mountain crags; 16   and they called out to the mountains and the crags, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the vengeance of the Lamb.’ 17   For the great day of their vengeance has come, and who will be able to stand?

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