Revelation 6:8

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
looked	εἶδον eidon	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
behold	ἰδοὺ idou	G2400	used as imperative lo! · interjection
pale	χλωρὸς chlōros	G5515	greenish · adjective — nominative singular masculine
horse	ἵππος ippos	G2462	a horse · noun — nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
name	ὄνομα onoma	G3686	a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority · noun — nominative singular neuter
that	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
sat	καθήμενος kathēmenos	G2521	and (to sit · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
on	ἐπάνω epanō	G1883	up above · preposition
him	αὐτῷ autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
Death	θάνατος. thanatos	G2288	(properly · noun — nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
Hell	ᾅδης hadēs	G86	properly · noun — nominative singular masculine
followed	ἠκολούθει ēkolouthei	G190	properly · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
with	μετ᾽ met᾽	G3326	properly · preposition
him	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
power	ἐξουσία exousia	G1849	privilege · noun — nominative singular feminine
given	ἐδόθη edothē	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
them	αὐτοῖς autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
over	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
part	τέταρτον tetarton	G5067	fourth · adjective — accusative singular neuter
earth	γῆς gēs	G1093	soil · noun — genitive singular feminine
kill	ἀποκτεῖναι apokteinai	G615	to kill outright · verb — aorist active infinitive
with	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
sword	ῥομφαίᾳ rhomphaia	G4501	a sabre · noun — dative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
with	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
hunger	λιμῷ limō	G3042	a scarcity of food · noun — dative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
with	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
death	θανάτῳ thanatō	G2288	(properly · noun — dative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
with	ὑπὸ hupo	G5259	under · preposition
beasts	θηρίων thēriōn	G2342	a dangerous animal · noun — genitive plural neuter
earth	γῆς.¶ gēs	G1093	soil · noun — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destru…
Jeremiah 15:2-3 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for…
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Ezekiel 14:13-21 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff…
Zechariah 6:3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.
Jeremiah 16:4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the…
Ezekiel 5:12 A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall…
Revelation 20:13-14 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man a…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 6:3-8

The next three seals give us a sad prospect of great and desolating judgments with which God punishes those who either refuse or abuse the everlasting gospel. Though some understand them of the persecutions that befell the church of Christ, and others of the destruction of the Jews, they rather seem more generally to represent God's terrible judgments, by which he avenges the quarrel of his covenant upon those who make light of it. I. Upon opening the second seal, to which John was called to attend, another horse appears, of a different colour from the former, a red horse, Rev 6:4. This signifies the desolating judgment of war; he that sat upon this red horse had power to take peace from the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 6:8

pale--"livid" [ALFORD]. Death--personified. Hell--Hades personified. unto them--Death and Hades. So A, C read. But B and Vulgate read, "to him." fourth part of the earth--answering to the first four seals; his portion as one of the four, being a fourth part. death--pestilence; compare Eze 14:21 with the four judgments here, the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts; the famine the consequence of the sword; pestilence, that of famine; and beasts multiplying by the consequent depopulation. with the beasts--Greek, "by"; more direct agency. These four seals are marked off from the three last, by the four living creatures introducing them with "Come." The calamities indicated are…

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Adam Clarke on Revelation 6:8

A pale horse - The symbol of death. Pallida mors, pale death, was a very usual poetic epithet; of this symbol there can be no doubt, because it is immediately said, His name that sat on him was Death. And hell followed with him - The grave, or state of the dead, received the slain. This is a very elegant prosopopaeia, or personification. Over the fourth part of the earth - One fourth of mankind was to feel the desolating effects of this seal. To kill with sword - War; with hunger - Famine; with death - Pestilence; and with the beasts of the earth - lions, tigers, hyenas, etc., which would multiply in consequence of the devastations occasioned by war, famine, and pestilence.

The Church Fathers

And behold, a pale horse, etc. Heretics who mask themselves as Catholics, worthy of the inhabiting death, drag after them a host of the lost. For the devil and his ministers are metaphorically called death and hell, as they are the cause of death and hell for many. It can also be simply understood that here the spiritually dead, there eternal punishment follows.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

And power was given to him over a fourth of the earth. Behold, the madness of Arius, born in Alexandria, reached as far as the Gallic Ocean, not only persecuting the pious bestially with famine of the word of God but also with physical sword. Another version translates it as a fourth part, because the three evil horses, relying on the devil as their leader, ride against the fourth cavalry of the Church.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

In the pale horse we perceive evil people who never cease to incite persecutions. And these three horses are one, who came out after the white horse and against it. And they have as their rider the devil, who is death. And so, the three horses are interpreted to be war, famine, and pestilence. For in the Gospel, the Lord foretold of these things, and they have already occurred, and as the day of judgment draws nearer will occur even more.
— Caesarius of Arles, EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 6:8, HOMILY 5

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Animals · Sent in — Sent in
Famine · Sent as a — Sent as a
Hades · V. the word “Ha — V. the word “Ha
Horse · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Horse, The · Colours of, mentioned: Pale or ash colour — Colours of, mentioned: Pale or ash colour
Pale Horse · Symbol of — Symbol of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Revelation 6:8

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 6:3-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 6:8

Adam Clarke on Revelation 6:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Revelation 6:8

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 6:3-8

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 6:8

Adam Clarke on Revelation 6:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Revelation 6:8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 6:7-8