Revelation 6:5

And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — John records the moment the Lamb breaks the third seal, prompting the third living creature to command the appearance of a rider on a black horse.

The words — The text highlights ἤνοιξεν (ēnoixen), meaning He opened, and σφραγῖδα (sphragida), meaning seal, describing the Lamb's action in revealing the third sealed event.

The thread — The imagery connects to Ezekiel 4:16, where God cuts off Jerusalem's food supply and mandates bread rationing, and to Zechariah 6:2 and Zechariah 6:6, which place black horses in chariots moving toward the northern land.

Why it lands — The text states the rider holds scales, and the surrounding context specifies inflated food prices, asking the reader to recognize the depiction of measured scarcity and economic hardship.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Cross-references

Zechariah 6:2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
Ezekiel 4:16 Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.
Zechariah 6:6 The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”
Revelation 6:1 Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
Leviticus 26:26 When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
Revelation 4:6 And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.
Revelation 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Lamentations 5:10 Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger.
Ezekiel 4:10 You are to weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day, and you are to eat it at set times.