3And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living being say, Come and see. 4And there went out another horse flame-coloured; and to him who sat thereon there was power given to take peace from the earth, and that men should kill each other; and there was given to him a great sword.
5And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living being say, Come and see. And I saw, and lo! a black horse; and he that sat upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6And I heard a voice from amidst the four living beings saying, A chœnix[154] of wheat for a denarius[155], and three chœnixs of barley for a denarius; yet to the oil and the wine do no injury.
7And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being saying, Come and see. 8And I looked, and lo! a pale coloured horse, and one sat on it, whose name was Death, and the grave followed after him: and power was given to them to kill the fourth part of the earth with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and with the wild beasts of the earth.
9And when he opened the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they maintained. 10And they cried with a loud voice, How long will it be, O sovereign, the holy one and the true, ere thou judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? 11And to each of them were given white robes, and it was told them that they should wait yet a little longer space, until the number of their fellow-servants and their brethren, who should be slain as well as they, should be completed.
12And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and lo! there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as the fig-tree sheddeth her early ripe figs when shaken by a mighty wind: 14and the heaven was removed away as a volume rolled up and every mountain and island were removed out of their places: 15and the kings of the earth, and the grandees, and the rich, and the military commanders, and the men in power, and every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the caves, and in the rocks of the mountains; 16and said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17for the great day of his wrath is come, and who is able to stand?
[CHAP. VII.]
AND after these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, to hold back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, neither on the sea, nor on any tree. 2And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom power was given for them to hurt the earth and the sea, 3saying, Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4And I heard the number of those who were sealed; one hundred and forty and four thousand were sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel. 5Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephtalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand. 7Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8Of the tribe of Zebulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
9After these things I looked, and beheld a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation, and tribe, and people, and tongue, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands 10and crying with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb. 11And all the angels stood in a circle about the throne, and the presbyters and the four living beings, and fell on their faces before the throne, and worshipped God, 12saying, Amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13And one of the presbyters addressed me, saying, Who are these persons who are clothed in white robes? and from whence came they? 14And I said to him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are persons who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun scorch them, nor any burning heat. 17Because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them, as a shepherd, and lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.