The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^(A)the seven seals, and I heard ^(B)one of the four living creatures say ^(C)with a voice like thunder, ^(D)“Come!” ² And I looked, and behold, ^(E)a white horse! And ^(F)its rider had a bow, and ^(G)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(H)conquering, and to conquer.

³ When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(I)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And out came another horse, ^(J)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(K)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(L)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(M)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(N)“A quart^[a] of wheat for a denarius,^[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(O)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(P)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(Q)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(R)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(S)by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(T)the altar ^(U)the souls of those who had been slain ^(V)for the word of God and for ^(W)the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(X)holy and true, ^(Y)how long ^(Z)before you will judge and ^(AA)avenge our blood on ^(AB)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given ^(AC)a white robe and ^(AD)told to rest a little longer, ^(AE)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{[c] (AF)}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(AG)there was a great earthquake, and ^(AH)the sun became black as ^(AI)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and ^(AJ)the stars of the sky fell to the earth ^(AK)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ^14 (AL)The sky vanished ^(AM)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^(AN)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave^[d] and free, ^(AO)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ^16 (AP)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^(AQ)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for ^(AR)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(AS)who can stand?”

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back ^(AT)the four winds of the earth, ^(AU)that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. ² Then I saw another angel ascending ^(AV)from the rising of the sun, with ^(AW)the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³ saying, ^(AX)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God ^(AY)on their foreheads.” ⁴ And ^(AZ)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, ^(BA)a great multitude that no one could number, ^(BB)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, ^(BC)clothed in white robes, with ^(BD)palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, ^(BE)“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and ^(BF)the four living creatures, and they ^(BG)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ^12 (BH)saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, ^(BI)clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of ^(BJ)the great tribulation. ^(BK)They have washed their robes and ^(BL)made them white ^(BM)in the blood of the Lamb.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When the Lamb opened ^(BU)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels ^(BV)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ And another angel came and stood ^(BW)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with ^(BX)the prayers of all the saints on ^(BY)the golden altar before the throne, ⁴ and ^(BZ)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer and ^(CA)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and ^(CB)there were peals of ^(CC)thunder, rumblings,^[e] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

⁶ Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed ^(CD)hail and ^(CE)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a ^(CF)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of ^(CG)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ^(CH)a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ^(CI)became blood. ⁹ A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of ^(CJ)the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet, and ^(CK)a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on ^(CL)the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood.^[f] A third of the waters ^(CM)became wormwood, and many people died from the water, ^(CN)because it had been made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of ^(CO)the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ^(CP)“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and ^(CQ)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given ^(CR)the key to the shaft of ^(CS)the bottomless pit.^{[g] 2} He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft ^(CT)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and ^(CU)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³ Then from the smoke came ^(CV)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told ^(CW)not to harm ^(CX)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have ^(CY)the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were allowed to torment them ^(CZ)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ And in those days ^(DA)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

^7 (DB)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: ^(DC)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were ^(DD)like human faces, ⁸ their hair like women's hair, and ^(DE)their teeth like lions' teeth; ⁹ they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was ^(DF)like the noise of many chariots with ^(DG)horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people ^(DH)for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have ^(DI)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is ^(DJ)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.^[h]

^12 (DK)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from ^(DL)the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release ^(DM)the four angels who are bound at ^(DN)the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released ^(DO)to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of ^(DP)mounted troops was ^(DQ)twice ten thousand times ten thousand; ^(DR)I heard their number. ¹⁷ And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire^[i] and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were ^(DS)like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

²⁰ The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, ^(DT)did not repent of ^(DU)the works of their hands nor give up worshiping ^(DV)demons ^(DW)and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹ nor did they repent of their murders or their ^(DX)sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with ^(DY)a rainbow over his head, and ^(DZ)his face was like the sun, and ^(EA)his legs like pillars of fire. ^2 (EB)He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, ³ and called out with a loud voice, ^(EC)like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. ⁴ And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, ^(ED)“Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” ⁵ And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(EE)raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by ^(EF)him who lives forever and ever, ^(EG)who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, ⁷ but that ^(EH)in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, ^(EI)just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ^(EJ)“Take and ^(EK)eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And I was told, ^(EL)“You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”