The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

15 Then ^(A)I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, ^(B)seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw ^(C)what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those ^(D)who had conquered the beast and its image and ^(E)the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass ^(F)with harps of God in their hands. ³ And they sing ^(G)the song of Moses, ^(H)the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

⁵ After this I looked, and ^(N)the sanctuary of ^(O)the tent^[b] of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶ and out of the sanctuary came ^(P)the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright ^(Q)linen, ^(R)with golden sashes around their chests. ⁷ And one of ^(S)the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven ^(T)golden bowls full of the wrath of God ^(U)who lives forever and ever, ⁸ and ^(V)the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ^(W)no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

⁵ From the throne came ^(A)flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning ^(B)seven torches of fire, ^(C)which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶ and before the throne there was ^(D)as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^(E)four living creatures, ^(F)full of eyes in front and behind:

⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders ^(A)fell down before the Lamb, ^(B)each holding a harp, and ^(C)golden bowls full of incense, ^(D)which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang ^(E)a new song, saying,

⁷ Also it was allowed ^(A)to make war on the saints and to conquer them.^[a] And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸ and all ^(B)who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in ^(C)the book of life of ^(D)the Lamb ^(E)who was slain. ^9 (F)If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

^(I)Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

Jethro's Advice

18 ^(A)Jethro, ^(B)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, ³ along with her ^(C)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (^(D)for he said, ^(E)“I have been a sojourner^[a] in a foreign land”), ⁴ and the name of the other, Eliezer^[b] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵ Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the ^(F)mountain of God. ⁶ And when he sent word to Moses, “I,^[c] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” ⁷ Moses ^(G)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and ^(H)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. ⁸ Then Moses told his father-in-law ^(I)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. ⁹ And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, ^(J)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that ^(K)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they ^(L)dealt arrogantly with the people.”^{[d] 12} And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law ^(M)before God.

¹³ The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(N)the people come to me to inquire of God; ^16 (O)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I ^(P)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” ¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. ^(Q)You are not able to do it alone. ¹⁹ Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^(R)represent the people before God and ^(S)bring their cases to God, ²⁰ and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^(T)the way in which they must walk and ^(U)what they must do. ²¹ Moreover, look for ^(V)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²² And ^(W)let them judge the people at all times. ^(X)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^(Y)bear the burden with you. ²³ If you do this, God will direct you, you will be ^(Z)able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ^25 (AA)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶ And ^(AB)they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^(AC)he went away to his own country.