The Sealed of Israel

After this I saw four angels(A) standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth(B) so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel rising up from the east,(C) who had the seal of the living God.(D) He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea, “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees(E) until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.”(F) And I heard the number of the sealed:

144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:(G)

12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah,

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 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language,(H) which no one could number,(I) standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.(J) 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

Salvation belongs to our God,(K)
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!

11 All the angels stood around the throne, and along with the elders and the four living creatures they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever.(L) Amen.

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 I said to him, “Sir,[a] you know.”

Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.(M) They washed their robes and made them white(N) in the blood of the Lamb.

15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and they serve him day and night(O) in his temple.(P)
The one seated on the throne will shelter[b] them:(Q)
16 They will no longer hunger;
they will no longer thirst;
the sun will no longer strike them,
nor will any scorching heat.(R)
17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will shepherd them;(S)
he will guide them to springs of the waters of life,(T)
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.(U)

Footnotes

  1. 7:14 Or “My lord
  2. 7:15 Or will spread his tent over

The Sealing of the 144,000

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east[a], holding the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given permission[b] to damage the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Simeon,[c] twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

The Great Crowd before the Throne

After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation to our God
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever[d]. Amen!”

13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the white robes—who are they, and from where have they come?” 14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,

“These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation,
    and have washed their robes
    and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God,
    and they serve[e] him day and night in his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter[f] them.
16 They will not be hungry any longer or be thirsty any longer,
    nor will the sun ever beat down on them, nor any heat,[g]
17 because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them
    and will lead them to springs of living waters,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[h]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:2 Literally “from the rising of the sun”
  2. Revelation 7:2 Literally “to whom was granted to them”
  3. Revelation 7:7 Or “Symeon,” an alternate spelling of the Greek form of the name
  4. Revelation 7:12 Literally “for the ages of the ages”
  5. Revelation 7:15 Or “worship”
  6. Revelation 7:15 Literally “will take up residence over”
  7. Revelation 7:16 An allusion to Isa 49:10
  8. Revelation 7:17 An allusion to Isa 25:8