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.