Revelation 7

Good News Translation

The 144,000 People of Israel

7 ^(A)After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so that no wind should blow on the earth or the sea or against any tree. ²And I saw another angel coming up from the east with the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given the power to damage the earth and the sea. ³^(B)The angel said, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” ⁴And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God's seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel, ^5-8twelve thousand from each tribe: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

The Enormous Crowd

⁹^(C)After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd—no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰They called out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!” ¹¹All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. Then they threw themselves face downward in front of the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

¹³One of the elders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where do they come from?”

¹⁴^(D)“I don't know, sir. You do,” I answered.

He said to me, “These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵That is why they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence. ¹⁶^(E)Never again will they hunger or thirst; neither sun nor any scorching heat will burn them, ¹⁷^(F)because the Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7

New English Translation

The Sealing of the 144,000

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. ²Then^[a] I saw another angel ascending from the east,^[b] who had^[c] the seal^[d] of the living God. He^[e] shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission^[f] to damage the earth and the sea:^[g] ³“Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants^[h] of our God.” ⁴Now^[i] I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal,^[j] 144,000, sealed from all^[k] the tribes of the people of Israel:^[l]

⁵From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
⁶from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,
⁷from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,
⁸from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

⁹After these things I looked, and here was^[m] an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe,^[n] people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰They were shouting out in a loud voice,

“Salvation belongs to our God,^[o] who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

¹¹And all the angels stood^[p] there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground^[q] before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

¹³Then^[r] one of the elders asked^[s] me, “These dressed in long white robes—who are they and where have they come from?” ¹⁴So^[t] I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.”^[u] Then^[v] he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They^[w] have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! ¹⁵For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve^[x] him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them.^[y] ¹⁶They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat,^[z] ¹⁷because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”^[aa]

Footnotes

Revelation 7:2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
Revelation 7:2 tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12…simply ἀπὸ ἀ.…21:13.”
Revelation 7:2 tn Grk “having,” but v. 3 makes it clear that the angel’s purpose is to seal others with the seal he carries.
Revelation 7:2 tn Or “signet” (L&N 6.54).
Revelation 7:2 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
Revelation 7:2 tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “to whom it was given to them to damage the earth.”
Revelation 7:2 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
Revelation 7:3 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
Revelation 7:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.
Revelation 7:4 tn Grk “who were sealed.”
Revelation 7:4 tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.
Revelation 7:4 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.
Revelation 7:9 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
Revelation 7:9 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
Revelation 7:10 tn The dative here has been translated as a dative of possession.
Revelation 7:11 tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.
Revelation 7:11 tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
Revelation 7:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
Revelation 7:13 tn Grk “spoke” or “declared to,” but in the context “asked” reads more naturally in English.
Revelation 7:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.
Revelation 7:14 tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.
Revelation 7:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
Revelation 7:14 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
Revelation 7:15 tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuō).
Revelation 7:15 tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).
Revelation 7:16 tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.
Revelation 7:17 sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.

Good News Translation (GNT)

New English Translation (NET)

Revelation 7 Good News Translation