In this scene, when the lamb opened the fifth seal, John saw those who had been martyred for the word of God under the altar. They shouted to God, asking him to deliver justice. Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were martyred just as they had been. In the upper portion of the frame, the title of the corresponding part of the text is slightly different:
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained about the lamb.
At the top of the section, the witnesses are seen lying down in a row under the altar. At the bottom, the angels gently dress them with white robes which seem to be part of a continuous cloth that also covers the altar. The obvious association with the holy shroud of Christ is deliberate. Here, as in all 21 frames, the painting appears more talkative than the text, although it never reaches the level of chatter or exaggeration.
