Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. New Living Translation When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. English Standard Version When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. Berean Standard Bible And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. Berean Literal Bible And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse, and the one sitting on it having a pair of scales in his hand. King James Bible And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. New King James Version When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. New American Standard Bible When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” I looked, and behold, a black horse, and the one who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. NASB 1995 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. NASB 1977 And when He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” And I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. Legacy Standard Bible And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” Then I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sits on it had a pair of scales in his hand. Amplified Bible When He (the Lamb) broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse [of famine]; and the rider had in his hand a pair of scales (a balance). Christian Standard Bible When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come! ” And I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a set of scales in his hand. Holman Christian Standard Bible When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a set of scales in his hand. American Standard Version And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. Aramaic Bible in Plain English And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third Beast saying, “Come”, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat upon him had a balance scale in his hand. Contemporary English Version When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come out!" Then I saw a black horse, and its rider had a balance scale in one hand. Douay-Rheims Bible And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come, and see. And behold a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. English Revised Version And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. GOD'S WORD® Translation When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Go!" I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale. Good News Translation Then the Lamb broke open the third seal; and I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. International Standard Version When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Go!" I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a scale in his hand. Literal Standard Version And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and behold!” And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and he who is sitting on it is having a balance in his hand, Majority Standard Bible And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. New American Bible When he broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature cry out, “Come forward.” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale in his hand. NET Bible Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, "Come!" So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. New Revised Standard Version When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, New Heart English Bible When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." And I saw, and suddenly there was a black horse and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. Webster's Bible Translation And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living being say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. Weymouth New Testament When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come." I looked, and a black horse appeared, its rider carrying a balance in his hand. World English Bible When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and see!” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. Young's Literal Translation And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come and behold!' and I saw, and lo, a black horse, and he who is sitting upon it is having a balance in his hand, Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Third Seal: Famine4Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword. 5And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. 6And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.”… Cross References Ezekiel 4:16 Then He told me, "Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure. Zechariah 6:2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, Zechariah 6:6 The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south." Matthew 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Revelation 4:7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Treasury of Scripture And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and see a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. he had. Revelation 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. Revelation 4:6,7 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind… Revelation 5:5,9 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof… a black. Zechariah 6:2,6 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; … had. Leviticus 26:26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. Lamentations 5:10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. Ezekiel 4:10,16 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it… Jump to Previous Appeared Balance Balances Beast Beheld Black Broke Creature First Hand Heard Holding Horse Lamb Opened Pair Sat Seal Sitting Stamp Thereon Third Undone VoiceJump to Next Appeared Balance Balances Beast Beheld Black Broke Creature First Hand Heard Holding Horse Lamb Opened Pair Sat Seal Sitting Stamp Thereon Third Undone VoiceRevelation 6 1. The First Seal: Rider on White Horse3. The Second Seal: War 5. The Third Seal: Famine 7. The Fourth Seal: Death 9. The Fifth Seal: Martyrs 12. The Sixth Seal: Terror (5, 6) When He had opened.--Better, When he opened. The words "and see" are to be omitted here, as in the other seals. And I saw, and behold a horse, black, and he that sat on him having a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living beings, saying, A choenix of wheat for a denarius (penny), and three choenixes of barley for a denarius (penny), and the oil and the wine do thou not hurt. "Balance:" There is scarcely a doubt that a balance, or pair of scales, is intended (the Greek word also means a yoke); but the whole imagery of the seal harmonises with the balance, and the passage from Ezekiel (Ezekiel 45:10), cited by Alford, in which there is a "righteous balance" (the LXX. using the same Greek word as here) seems conclusive. It is the emblem of scarcity: food is not weighed out thus in times of abundance. (Comp. Ezekiel 4:16, "Behold I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight and with care.") The choenix ("measure" in English version) was the amount of food sufficient to support a man for a day. "A choenix is the daily maintenance" (Suidas, quoted by Alford). The denarius ("penny" of English version, here and in Matthew 18:28, and Mark 12:37) amounted to between sixpence and sevenpence of our money, and was the usual daily pay of the labourer, and of the soldier. (See especially Note on Matthew 20:2.) It is difficult to speak of this as other than terribly high prices for food. The whole of a man's pay goes for food, and even the coarser bread is so expensive that it takes a whole day's wages to supply food for three adults. It has been thought that the voice calls to the rider to check his devastations, lest the growing famine should exterminate the whole human race. This may be, but the check is at a point which has already wrought the highest misery. The extent of the misery may be imagined by imagining what wretchedness would be entailed were a man obliged to pay three or four shillings for bread sufficient to keep him nourished for a day. Or we may measure it by the estimate of the disciples (Mark 6:37) that two hundred pennyworth of bread would give a short meal to upwards of five thousand people. At the price in this seal, the cost of bread would have so risen that the two hundred pennyworth of bread would not suffice to feed one thousand. But what is meant by the words, "the oil and wine do not thou hurt"? They were not, like the bread, necessary to life, but among its luxuries and superfluities. There is a kind of irony in times of straitness, when the necessaries are scarcely to be had, and the luxuries remain comparatively low in price. The splendours and comforts of life are held cheap, when hunger is showing that the life is more than the dainty meat, and the body than raiment. The seal then tells the seer that in the ages the Church of Christ must expect to see famines and distress in the world, and luxuries abounding in the midst of straitness. Is it not true that the contrast, which is so ugly, between pampered opulence and indolent, pauperism, is the result of the prevalence of world-principles? Wealth, self-indulgent and heartless, and poverty, reckless and self-willed, are sure tokens that the golden rule of Christ is not understood and obeyed. There is a similar experience in the history of the Church. The red horse of controversy is followed by the black horse of spiritual starvation. In the heat of polemical pride and passion for theological conquest is developed that love of barren dogmatics which forgets the milk of the word and the bread of life, which are the needed food of souls. . . . Verse 5. - And when he had opened the third seal; when he opened, as in the case of the other seals (see on ver. 3). I heard the third beast say; the third living being saying. (On the living beings, see Revelation 4:6.) Wordsworth takes the third living being to be that with the human face, and considers it to be typical of the whole vision of the third seal, by symbolizing the source of the next trial of the Church; namely, the rise of heresy, which he thinks is depicted by this appearance. But probably the four living beings represent all creation, and thus invite St. John to witness the troubles in store for mankind in general. (For a full consideration of this point, see on Revelation 4:6.) Come and see. The majority of authorities emit "and see" (see the corresponding passage in vers. 1 and 3, where also is discussed the question as to whom the sentence is addressed). And I beheld, and lo a black horse. The black is typical of woe and mourning - the result of the scarcity foretold in the following words. This vision is typical of famine; it is the second of the three trials foretold - war, famine, death (cf. Ezekiel 14, where the "four sore plagues" are wild beasts, the sword, famine, and pestilence). St. John seems to foretell the recurrence of three of these troubles to try mankind in general, and Christians in particular. Those who interpret the vision to mean scarcity of faith, or in other words the prevalence of heresy, do so on the supposition that the events denoted at the opening of the seals follow each other in historical order. They therefore assign these events to the period subsequent to A.D. , when persecution had ceased, and the rise of heresies took place. Others, accepting the historical view, yet consider the vision to foretell famine; and Grotius and Wetstein point to the famine in the reign of Claudius as the fulfilment. But it is not probable that the meaning of the book is so limited in extent; but rather that its prophecies point to events which have happened, and are recurring, and will continue to recur until the end of the world. We therefore understand that this vision denotes famine in the ordinary sense, as one of the trials awaiting the members of the Church of God at various times during the existence of the Church on earth. This affliction may happen concurrently with, or antecedent to, or subsequent to, any of those trials denoted by the other visions, and even the victorious career of the Church as foretold under the first seal; for by suffering the Church conquers and is made perfect. And he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. Ζυγός is rightly rendered "a balance," as in Ezekiel 45:10; not (as it primarily meant) a "yoke." The idea intended to be conveyed is that of scarcity so great that food is weighed carefully as something very rare and precious, though there is not yet a complete absence of food. Parallel Commentaries ... Greek AndΚαὶ (Kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. when ὅτε (hote) Adverb Strong's 3753: When, at which time. From hos and te; at which too, i.e. When. [the Lamb] opened ἤνοιξεν (ēnoixen) Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Strong's 455: To open. From ana and oigo; to open up. the τὴν (tēn) Article - Accusative Feminine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. third τρίτην (tritēn) Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular Strong's 5154: Third. Ordinal from treis; third; neuter a third part, or a third time, thirdly. seal, σφραγῖδα (sphragida) Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Strong's 4973: Probably strengthened from phrasso; a signet; by implication, the stamp impressed, literally or figuratively. I heard ἤκουσα (ēkousa) Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Strong's 191: To hear, listen, comprehend by hearing; pass: is heard, reported. A primary verb; to hear. the τοῦ (tou) Article - Genitive Neuter Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. third τρίτου (tritou) Adjective - Genitive Neuter Singular Strong's 5154: Third. Ordinal from treis; third; neuter a third part, or a third time, thirdly. living creature ζῴου (zōou) Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular Strong's 2226: An animal, living creature. Neuter of a derivative of zao; a live thing, i.e. An animal. say, λέγοντος (legontos) Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Neuter Singular Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command. “Come!” Ἔρχου (Erchou) Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Singular Strong's 2064: To come, go. Then Καὶ (Kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. I looked εἶδον (eidon) Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Strong's 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. saw ἰδοὺ (idou) Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Strong's 2400: See! Lo! Behold! Look! Second person singular imperative middle voice of eido; used as imperative lo! a black μέλας (melas) Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 3189: Black. Apparently a primary word; black. horse, ἵππος (hippos) Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 2462: A horse. Of uncertain affinity; a horse. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. its rider ὁ (ho) Article - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. held ἔχων (echōn) Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold. in ἐν (en) Preposition Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. his αὐτοῦ (autou) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons. hand χειρὶ (cheiri) Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Strong's 5495: A hand. a pair of scales. ζυγὸν (zygon) Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Strong's 2218: From the root of zeugnumi; a coupling, i.e. servitude; also the beam of the balance. 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