⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.^(A) Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth^(B) and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

⁵ When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature^(C) say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse!^(D) Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.

⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!^(A) Its rider was named Death, and Hades^(B) was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.^(C)

² The first chariot had red horses, the second black,^{(A) 3} the third white,^(B) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. ⁴ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits^[a](C) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.^{(D) 6} The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,^[b] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

⁷ When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.^(E) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.