1. Then I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living beings speak with a voice like thunder. It said, “Come!”
2. I looked, and there before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse held a bow and was given a crown. He rode out to defeat the enemy and win the victory.
3. The Lamb opened the second seal. Then I heard the second living being say, “Come!”
4. Then another horse came out, a red one. The rider on the horse was given power to take away peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a big sword.
5. The Lamb opened the third seal. Then I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse. The rider on the horse held a pair of scales in his hand.
6. Then I heard something that sounded like a voice. The voice came from where the four living beings were. It said, “A quart of wheat or three quarts of barley will cost a full day’s pay. But don’t harm the supply of olive oil and wine!”
7. The Lamb opened the fourth seal. Then I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, “Come!”
8. I looked, and there before me was a pale-colored horse. The rider on the horse was death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth—power to kill people with the sword, by starving, by disease, and with the wild animals of the earth.
9. The Lamb opened the fifth seal. Then I saw some souls under the altar. They were the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to God’s message and to the truth they had received.
10. These souls shouted in a loud voice, “Holy and true Lord, how long until you judge the people of the earth and punish them for killing us?”