Revelation 6:1

The Seven Seals

6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, ¹  “Come!” ² 

Revelation 9:17

9:17 Now ³  this is what the horses and their riders ⁴  looked like in my ⁵  vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, ⁶  dark blue, ⁷  and sulfurous ⁸  yellow in color. ⁹  The ¹⁰  heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur ¹¹  came out of their mouths.

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¹ tn Grk “saying like a voice [or sound] of thunder.”

² tc The addition of “and see” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) to “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1, 3-5, 7 is a gloss directed to John, i.e., “come and look at the seals and the horsemen!” But the command ἔρχου is better interpreted as directed to each of the horsemen. The shorter reading also has the support of the better witnesses.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of the description of the horses and riders, which is somewhat parenthetical in the narrative.

⁴ tn Grk “and those seated on them.”

⁵ tn Grk “the vision”; the Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

⁶ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

⁷ tn On this term BDAG 1022 s.v. ὑακίνθινος states, “hyacinth-colored, i.e. dark blue (dark red?) w. πύρινος Rv 9:17.”

⁸ tn On this term BDAG 446 s.v. θειώδης states, “sulphurous Rv 9:17.”

⁹ sn The colors of the riders’ breastplates parallel the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur in v. 18.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹¹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”