Jeremiah 14:12

14:12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. ¹  Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.” ² 

Jeremiah 24:9-10

24:9 I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ³  That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them. ⁴  24:10 I will bring war, starvation, and disease ⁵  on them until they are completely destroyed from the land I gave them and their ancestors.’” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 43:11

43:11 He will come and attack Egypt. Those who are destined to die of disease will die of disease. Those who are destined to be carried off into exile will be carried off into exile. Those who are destined to die in war will die in war. ⁷ 

Isaiah 24:18

24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit; ⁸ 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ⁹  are opened up ¹⁰ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Ezekiel 5:2

5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them.

Ezekiel 5:12

5:12 A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. ¹¹  A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, ¹²  and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them.

Ezekiel 14:21

14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments – sword, famine, wild animals, and plague – to Jerusalem ¹³  to kill both people and animals!

Daniel 9:12

9:12 He has carried out his threats ¹⁴  against us and our rulers ¹⁵  who were over ¹⁶  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven!

Amos 5:19

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ¹⁷ 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ¹⁸  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

Zechariah 11:9

11:9 I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”

Revelation 6:3-8

6:3 Then ¹⁹  when the Lamb ²⁰  opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 6:4 And another horse, fiery red, ²¹  came out, and the one who rode it ²²  was granted permission ²³  to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher ²⁴  one another, and he was given a huge sword.

6:5 Then ²⁵  when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So ²⁶  I looked, ²⁷  and here came ²⁸  a black horse! The ²⁹  one who rode it ³⁰  had a balance scale ³¹  in his hand. 6:6 Then ³²  I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart ³³  of wheat will cost a day’s pay ³⁴  and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But ³⁵  do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”

6:7 Then ³⁶  when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 6:8 So ³⁷  I looked ³⁸  and here came ³⁹  a pale green ⁴⁰  horse! The ⁴¹  name of the one who rode it ⁴²  was Death, and Hades followed right behind. ⁴³  They ⁴⁴  were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, ⁴⁵  famine, and disease, ⁴⁶  and by the wild animals of the earth.

[14:12]  ¹ sn See 6:16-20 for parallels.

[14:12]  ² tn Heb “through sword, starvation, and plague.”

[24:9]  ³ tn Or “an object of reproach in peoples’ proverbs…an object of ridicule in people’s curses.” The alternate translation treats the two pairs which are introduced without vavs (ו) but are joined by vavs as examples of hendiadys. This is very possible here but the chain does not contain this pairing in 25:18; 29:18.

[24:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will make them for a terror for disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, for a reproach and for a proverb, for a taunt and a curse in all the places which I banish them there.” The complex Hebrew sentence has been broken down into equivalent shorter sentences to conform more with contemporary English style.

[24:10]  ⁵ sn See Jer 14:12 and the study note there.

[24:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers.”

[43:11]  ⁷ tn As in 15:2 the Hebrew is very brief and staccato-like: “those to death to death, and those to captivity to captivity, and those to the sword to the sword.” As in 15:2 most commentaries and English versions assume that the word “death” refers to death by disease. See the translator’s note on 15:2 and compare also 18:21 where the sword is distinctly connected with “war” or “battle” and is distinct from “killed by death [i.e., disease].”

[24:18]  ⁸ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ¹⁰ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[5:12]  ¹¹ sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.

[5:12]  ¹² sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.

[14:21]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who judged.”

[5:19]  ¹⁷ tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[6:3]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the Lamb) has been specified in the translation for clarity here and throughout the rest of the chapter.

[6:4]  ²¹ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

[6:4]  ²² tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:4]  ²³ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “it was given to him to take peace from the earth.”

[6:4]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 979 s.v. σφάζω states, “Of the killing of a person by violence…σφάζειν τινά butcher or murder someone (4 Km 10:7; Jer 52:10; Manetho: 609 fgm. 8, 76 Jac. [in Jos., C. Ap. 1, 76]; Demetr.[?]: 722 fgm. 7; Ar. 10, 9) 1J 3:12; Rv 6:4. Pass. (Hdt. 5, 5) 5:9; 6:9; 18:24.”

[6:5]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:5]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.

[6:5]  ²⁷ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:5]  ²⁸ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:5]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:5]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:5]  ³¹ sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.

[6:6]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:6]  ³³ tn BDAG 1086 s.v. χοῖνιξ states, “a dry measure, oft. used for grain, approximately equivalent to one quart or one liter, quart. A χ.of grain was a daily ration for one pers.…Rv 6:6ab.”

[6:6]  ³⁴ tn Grk “a quart of wheat for a denarius.” A denarius was one day’s pay for an average worker. The words “will cost” are used to indicate the genitive of price or value; otherwise the English reader could understand the phrase to mean “a quart of wheat to be given as a day’s pay.”

[6:6]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[6:7]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:8]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the fourth creature.

[6:8]  ³⁸ tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the mss that have already placed “and look” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) after the verb “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1. Thus, for these copyists it was redundant to add “and I looked” again.

[6:8]  ³⁹ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[6:8]  ⁴⁰ tn A sickly pallor, when referring to persons, or the green color of plants. BDAG 1085 s.v. χλωρός 2 states, “pale, greenish gray…as the color of a pers. in sickness contrasted with appearance in health…so the horse ridden by Death…ἵππος χλωρός Rv 6:8.” Because the color of the horse is symbolic, “pale green” is used in the translation. Cf. NIV, NCV “pale”; NASB “ashen.”

[6:8]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:8]  ⁴² tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

[6:8]  ⁴³ tn Grk “And Hades was following with him.” The Greek expression μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ (met’ autou, “with him”) is Semitic and indicates close proximity. The translation “followed right behind” reflects this.

[6:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).