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.

Revelation 7

Evangelical Heritage Version

The Church on Earth

7 After this I saw four angels, who stood at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth so that the wind could not blow on the earth, the sea, or any tree.

²And I saw another angel coming up from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He called out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to harm the earth and the sea. He said, ³“Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of God’s servants.”

⁴And I heard the number of those sealed:

144,000 sealed from all the tribes of the people of Israel:

⁵from the tribe of Judah,	12,000, who were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben,	12,000,
from the tribe of Gad,	12,000,
⁶from the tribe of Asher,	12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali,	12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh,	12,000,
⁷from the tribe of Simeon,	12,000,
from the tribe of Levi,	12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar,	12,000,
⁸from the tribe of Zebulun,	12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph,	12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin,	12,000, who were sealed.

The Church in Heaven

⁹After these things I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰They called out with a loud voice and said:

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. They fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹²saying:

Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and
power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.

¹³One of the elders spoke to me and said, “These people dressed in white robes, who are they and where did they come from?”

And I answered him, “Sir, you know.”

¹⁴And he said to me:

These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
    the Lamb.
¹⁵    Because of this they are in front of the throne of God,
    and they serve him day and night in his temple.
He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
¹⁶They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.
The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat,
¹⁷    for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

New English Translation (NET)

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)