Translation
Another
horse
went forth; this one
was red like fire
Go to footnote numberand
the one sitting on it
Go to footnote numberwas granted the power to take peace from the earth, so that people would slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Paraphrase
Another personification of unlimited swiftness, and power
went forth; this one had the purpose of punishing severely, and the one accompanying it was granted the power to take peace from the earth, so that people would slay one another, and he was given the capability of inflicting much violence and death.
Footnotes
1: “red like fire”
These are two symbols that mean the same thing: punishment. In order to communicate the doubling of the word “punish” without sounding odd I have chosen the phrase – “punishing severely.”
2
I am convinced that the horse and its rider worked together as a symbol of the power of Jesus just like the horse and rider worked together on the battlefield. For that reason I will refer to the rider in the paraphrase in a way that clarifies this joint demonstration of power. It takes more than one set of symbols to illustrate even part of Jesus’ power.