Verse 4 A symbol of war and slaughter. Revelation 6:5,6. Famine. The carrying of a pair of balances denotes the exactness of measurement attendant on scarcity. A measure of wheat was a very small quantity, and the penny was of much greater value than the English word indicates, (see Matthew 20:2; Luke 10:35;) so that these are famine prices for the necessaries of life; while the luxuries are represented as protected from injury.