Revelation 6 — Clausal Layout (English)

independentrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The four horsemen — the first four seals 6:1–8

vv. 1–2 — the first seal: the white horse

And I sawindependent — the seer’s formula — the seal-cycle opens (cf. 5:1)

when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals,conditional — ὅτε-temporal inside the εἶδον frame — the Lamb, alone worthy (ch. 5), breaks the first seal

and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder,independent — the cherub’s thunder-voice (4:6–8)

“Come!”content — the summons — one word, to the rider, not the seer (the Byzantine ‘come and see’ declined)

And I saw,independent — the tableau formula

and behold, a white horse,independent — verbless ἰδού-tableau — white: conquest (the coloured horses of Zech 1:8; 6:3)

and the one sitting on it holding a bow,independent — verbless — the rider drawn by the bare participle ἔχων; the bow

and a crown was given to him,independent — divine passive — the crown granted, not seized

and he went out conqueringindependent — the mission — νικῶν, already conquering as he rides

and in order to conquer.purpose — the ἵνα coordinated with the participle νικῶν — conquest as present act and appointed end

vv. 3–4 — the second seal: the red horse

And when he opened the second seal,conditional — ὅτε-temporal — leans forward on ἤκουσα below (so no anchor)

I heard the second living creature saying,independent — the formula compressed — no thunder-voice this time

“Come!”content — the summons, as at v. 1

And out went another horse, fiery-red,independent — πυρρός — fire-red: slaughter; the tableau formula varied (ἐξῆλθεν for ἰδού)

and to the one sitting on it it was grantedindependent — divine passive again — the fronted dative resumed by pleonastic αὐτῷ (Semitism)

to take peace from the earthcontent — complement infinitive — peace stripped from the earth

so that they would slaughter one another,purpose — ἵνα + future indicative (σφάξουσιν) — Revelation’s idiom; coordinate with λαβεῖν under ἐδόθη

and a great sword was given to him.independent — the μάχαιρα μεγάλη — the great slaughter-knife

vv. 5–6 — the third seal: the black horse

And when he opened the third seal,conditional — ὅτε-temporal — leans forward on ἤκουσα below

I heard the third living creature saying,independent — the formula as at v. 3

“Come!”content — the summons

And I saw,independent — the tableau formula resumes

and behold, a black horse,independent — verbless ἰδού-tableau — black: famine

and the one sitting on it holding a balance in his hand.independent — verbless, on the pattern of v. 2 — the ζυγόν: the merchant’s balance, bread by weight (Ezek 4:16)

And I heard what seemed a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying,independent — ὡς φωνήν — a voice from among the four ζῷα, its speaker unnamed

“A quart of wheat for a denarius,content — the price-oracle — verbless; a χοῖνιξ (one day’s ration) for a δηνάριον (one day’s wage, Matt 20:2): famine prices

and three quarts of barley for a denarius;content — the poor man’s grain at triple ration — the whole wage still devoured by bread

but do not harm the oil and the wine.”content — prohibitive subjunctive — the oil and the wine spared: the famine bounded

vv. 7–8 — the fourth seal: the pale horse

And when he opened the fourth seal,conditional — ὅτε-temporal — leans forward on ἤκουσα below

I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying,independent — the formula, with φωνήν now expressed

“Come!”content — the summons — the fourth and last

And I saw,independent — the tableau formula

and behold, a pale-green horse,independent — verbless ἰδού-tableau — χλωρός: corpse-green, the pallor of the dead

and the one sitting on it — his name was Death,independent — suspended — the rider named, not described: ὄνομα αὐτῷ ὁ Θάνατος, the Hebraic naming formula; anacoluthon

and Hades was following with him,independent — imperfect — Hades trailing Death, gathering what he kills (cf. 1:18; 20:13–14)

and authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth,independent — divine passive — αὐτοῖς, the pair; the plague quartered, not total

to kill with sword and with famine and with plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.content — epexegetic infinitive — the fourfold covenant-curse: sword, famine, pestilence (θάνατος), beasts (Ezek 14:21; Lev 26:22–26)

The fifth seal — the souls under the altar 6:9–11

vv. 9–10 — the slain souls, and the cry: how long?

And when he opened the fifth seal,conditional — ὅτε-temporal — leans forward on εἶδον below; the formula shifts: no horse, no summons

I saw beneath the altar the souls of those who had been slainindependent — the martyrs’ souls beneath the altar — as blood poured at its base (Lev 4:7); ἐσφαγμένων, slain like the Lamb (5:6)

because of the word of Godcause — διά + accusative ground — slain for the word

and because of the testimonycause — the pair’s second limb — the μαρτυρία (cf. 1:9)

which they held.relative — the witness they kept holding — εἶχον, imperfect

And they cried out with a great voice, saying,independent — the martyrs’ one loud cry

“How long,content — the psalmists’ cry — Ἕως πότε (Ps 79:5, 10; Zech 1:12); suspended over its verb below

O holy and true Master,phrase modifier — nominative for vocative — ὁ δεσπότης: the slain slaves address their Master, holy and true

will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”content — the question resumed — judgment as vindication: blood required from the earth-dwellers (Gen 4:10; Deut 32:43)

v. 11 — the white robe, and the answer: rest a little longer

And a white robe was given to each of them,independent — divine passive — vindication in advance, each martyr robed in white (3:5; 7:9)

and it was said to themindependent — impersonal passive — the answer to ‘how long?’

that they should rest yet a little while,content — ἵνα + future indicative (ἀναπαύσονται) — the content of the word spoken, not purpose

until they should be made complete —conditional — ἕως-temporal — the term of the delay; πληρωθῶσιν (passive) read over the variant πληρώσωσιν; ‘the number’ supplied in English

their fellow-servants also and their brothers, who were about to be killed as they themselves had been.phrase modifier — the delayed compound subject of πληρωθῶσιν — the martyr-roll not yet full; ὡς καὶ αὐτοί, death like theirs

The sixth seal — the great day of wrath 6:12–17

vv. 12–14 — the cosmos dissolves

And I sawindependent — the formula of v. 1 returns — Καὶ εἶδον framing the last tableau of the chapter

when he opened the sixth seal,conditional — ὅτε-temporal inside the εἶδον frame, as at v. 1

and there was a great earthquake,independent — the paratactic catastrophe-chain begins — the day-of-the-LORD earthquake (Isa 13:13; Joel 2:10)

and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,independent — the sun in mourning-black (Isa 50:3; Joel 2:31)

and the whole moon became like blood,independent — ὅλη — the moon entire as blood (Joel 2:31)

and the stars of heaven fell to the earth,independent — the stars fall (Isa 34:4; Mark 13:25)

as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind,comparative — finite ὡς-simile — untimely figs in a gale (Isa 34:4); σειομένη echoing the σεισμός

and the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up,independent — the heavens recoil like a scroll snapping shut (Isa 34:4) — the ὡς-phrase kept in the line

and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.independent — compound subject, plural verb — nothing keeps its place (cf. 16:20)

vv. 15–17 — mankind hides: who can stand?

And the kings of the earth and the magnates and the commandersindependent — the sevenfold catalogue of mankind begun — suspended over ἔκρυψαν below; thrones first

and the rich and the strong and every slave and free manindependent — the list completed — down to every slave and free: the terror no respecter of rank (cf. 13:16; 19:18)

hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,independent — the landing — ἔκρυψαν ἑαυτούς: into the caves and rocks (Isa 2:10, 19, 21)

and they say to the mountains and to the rocks,independent — historic present — the plea made vivid

“Fall on uscontent — Hos 10:8 (cf. Luke 23:30) — crushing preferred to the Face

and hide uscontent — the plea doubled — the hiders beg to be hidden

from the face of the one seated on the thronephrase modifier — the first ἀπό — the face of the Enthroned One (4:2)

and from the wrath of the Lamb,phrase modifier — the pair’s second limb — ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ ἀρνίου: the chapter’s sharpest paradox, wrath belonging to the Lamb

for the great day of their wrath has come,cause — ὅτι — still inside the plea: the great day (Joel 2:11; Zeph 1:14–18); αὐτῶν, the Enthroned One and the Lamb together

and who is able to stand?”content — the speech’s closing question — τίς δύναται σταθῆναι; (Joel 2:11; Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2)

Analysis. Revelation 6 is liturgy, and the layout lets the repetition read as repetition. The first four seals run as four near-identical columns: the ὅτε-temporal of the opening (hanging under Καὶ εἶδον at v. 1, leaning forward — protasis-style, unanchored — over ἤκουσα at vv. 3, 5, 7), the ἤκουσα…λέγοντος line, and the one-word summons Ἔρχου hanging in blue beneath each — read as the cherub’s command to the rider, not to the seer (the Byzantine ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε declined). Beneath each summons the tableau: dashed verbless ἰδού-lines for horse and rider (λευκός, πυρρός via ἐξῆλθεν, μέλας, χλωρός), flush-left ἐδόθη divine passives for what each is given, and twice the ἵνα with a future indicative — σφάξουσιν (v. 4, purpose, coordinate with the infinitive λαβεῖν) and ἀναπαύσονται (v. 11, content of the command) — flagged as Revelation’s idiom. The black horse carries the verbless price-oracle as a three-line quoted column under λέγουσαν; the pale horse ends in the fourfold covenant-curse list under ἐξουσία (Ezek 14:21). The fifth seal sets the martyrs’ Ἕως πότε as a suspended fragment with the nominative-for-vocative address nested inside it, the question landing a line later; the answer chains ἐρρέθη → ἵνα → ἕως to depth 3, with πληρωθῶσιν read as passive (the number completed, not the martyrs completing it) and its long compound subject given its own delayed line. The sixth seal is pure parataxis — seven flush-left ἐγένετο/ἔπεσαν/ἀπεχωρίσθη lines, only the fig-tree simile indenting — then the sevenfold catalogue of mankind suspended over ἔκρυψαν ἑαυτούς, and the plea to the rocks (Hos 10:8) with its paired ἀπό-lines under κρύψατε. The layout takes v. 17 as still inside the quoted plea: the ὅτι grounds the sinners’ own words, αὐτῶν naming the Enthroned One and the Lamb together, and the final τίς δύναται σταθῆναι; is the hiders’ despairing question, not the narrator’s.