Revelation 6:5-8

6:5 Then ¹  when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So ²  I looked, ³  and here came ⁴  a black horse! The ⁵  one who rode it ⁶  had a balance scale ⁷  in his hand. 6:6 Then ⁸  I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart ⁹  of wheat will cost a day’s pay ¹⁰  and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But ¹¹  do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”

6:7 Then ¹²  when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 6:8 So ¹³  I looked ¹⁴  and here came ¹⁵  a pale green ¹⁶  horse! The ¹⁷  name of the one who rode it ¹⁸  was Death, and Hades followed right behind. ¹⁹  They ²⁰  were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, ²¹  famine, and disease, ²²  and by the wild animals of the earth.

[6:5]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:5]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.

[6:5]  ³ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:5]  ⁴ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:5]  ⁷ sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:6]  ⁹ tn BDAG 1086 s.v. χοῖνιξ states, “a dry measure, oft. used for grain, approximately equivalent to one quart or one liter, quart. A χ.of grain was a daily ration for one pers.…Rv 6:6ab.”

[6:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a quart of wheat for a denarius.” A denarius was one day’s pay for an average worker. The words “will cost” are used to indicate the genitive of price or value; otherwise the English reader could understand the phrase to mean “a quart of wheat to be given as a day’s pay.”

[6:6]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[6:7]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:8]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the fourth creature.

[6:8]  ¹⁴ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:8]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:8]  ¹⁶ tn A sickly pallor, when referring to persons, or the green color of plants. BDAG 1085 s.v. χλωρός 2 states, “pale, greenish gray…as the color of a pers. in sickness contrasted with appearance in health…so the horse ridden by Death…ἵππος χλωρός Rv 6:8.” Because the color of the horse is symbolic, “pale green” is used in the translation. Cf. NIV, NCV “pale”; NASB “ashen.”

[6:8]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And Hades was following with him.” The Greek expression μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ (met’ autou, “with him”) is Semitic and indicates close proximity. The translation “followed right behind” reflects this.

[6:8]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:8]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:8]  ²² tn Grk “with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).