saying, (A)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God (B)on their foreheads.” And (C)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

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

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, (D)a great multitude that no one could number, (E)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (F)clothed in white robes, with (G)palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, (H)“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 (I)the four living creatures, and they (J)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 (K)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, (L)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 (M)the great tribulation. (N)They have washed their robes and (O)made them white (P)in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and (Q)serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne (R)will shelter them with his presence.
16 (S)They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    (T)the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne (U)will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of (V)living water,
and (W)God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb opened (X)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels (Y)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood (Z)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with (AA)the prayers of all the saints on (AB)the golden altar before the throne, and (AC)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and (AD)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and (AE)there were peals of (AF)thunder, rumblings,[a] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

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

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed (AG)hail and (AH)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a (AI)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of (AJ)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

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

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

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of (AR)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, (AS)“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!”

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and (AT)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given (AU)the key to the shaft of (AV)the bottomless pit.[c] He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft (AW)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and (AX)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came (AY)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told (AZ)not to harm (BA)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have (BB)the seal of God on their foreheads.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:5 Or voices, or sounds
  2. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is the name of a plant and of the bitter-tasting extract derived from it
  3. Revelation 9:1 Greek the abyss; also verses 2, 11

“Do not harm(A) the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads(B) of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number(C) of those who were sealed: 144,000(D) from all the tribes of Israel.

From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,(E) standing before the throne(F) and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes(G) and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,(H)
who sits on the throne,(I)
and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders(J) and the four living creatures.(K) They fell down on their faces(L) before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”(M)

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes(N)—who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes(O) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.(P) 15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God(Q)
    and serve him(R) day and night in his temple;(S)
and he who sits on the throne(T)
    will shelter them with his presence.(U)
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.(V)
The sun will not beat down on them,’[a]
    nor any scorching heat.(W)
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;(X)
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b](Y)
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c](Z)

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When he opened the seventh seal,(AA) there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels(AB) who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.(AC)

Another angel,(AD) who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people,(AE) on the golden altar(AF) in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God(AG) from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,(AH) and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder,(AI) rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.(AJ)

The Trumpets

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets(AK) prepared to sound them.

The first angel(AL) sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire(AM) mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third(AN) of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.(AO)

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain,(AP) all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third(AQ) of the sea turned into blood,(AR) a third(AS) of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky(AT) on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water(AU) 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[d] A third(AV) of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.(AW)

12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third(AX) of them turned dark.(AY) A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.(AZ)

13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair(BA) call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe(BB) to the inhabitants of the earth,(BC) because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.(BD) The star was given the key(BE) to the shaft of the Abyss.(BF) When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.(BG) The sun and sky were darkened(BH) by the smoke from the Abyss.(BI) And out of the smoke locusts(BJ) came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions(BK) of the earth. They were told not to harm(BL) the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,(BM) but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.(BN)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10
  2. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10
  3. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8
  4. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is a bitter substance.