The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back (A)the four winds of the earth, (B)that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending (C)from the rising of the sun, with (D)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, saying, (E)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God (F)on their foreheads.” And (G)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, (H)a great multitude that no one could number, (I)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (J)clothed in white robes, with (K)palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, (L)“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 (M)the four living creatures, and they (N)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 (O)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, (P)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 (Q)the great tribulation. (R)They have washed their robes and (S)made them white (T)in the blood of the Lamb.

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

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb opened (AB)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels (AC)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood (AD)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with (AE)the prayers of all the saints on (AF)the golden altar before the throne, and (AG)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 (AH)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and (AI)there were peals of (AJ)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 (AK)hail and (AL)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a (AM)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of (AN)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

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

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

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of (AV)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, (AW)“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 (AX)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given (AY)the key to the shaft of (AZ)the bottomless pit.[c] He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft (BA)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and (BB)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came (BC)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told (BD)not to harm (BE)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have (BF)the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them (BG)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days (BH)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

(BI)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: (BJ)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were (BK)like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and (BL)their teeth like lions' teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was (BM)like the noise of many chariots with (BN)horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people (BO)for five months is in their tails. 11 They have (BP)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is (BQ)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.[d]

12 (BR)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 (BS)the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release (BT)the four angels who are bound at (BU)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 (BV)to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of (BW)mounted troops was (BX)twice ten thousand times ten thousand; (BY)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[e] and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were (BZ)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, (CA)did not repent of (CB)the works of their hands nor give up worshiping (CC)demons (CD)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 (CE)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 (CF)a rainbow over his head, and (CG)his face was like the sun, and (CH)his legs like pillars of fire. (CI)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, and called out with a loud voice, (CJ)like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, (CK)“Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land (CL)raised his right hand to heaven and swore by (CM)him who lives forever and ever, (CN)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, but that (CO)in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, (CP)just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

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.” So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, (CQ)“Take and (CR)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, (CS)“You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given (CT)a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure (CU)the court outside the temple; leave that out, for (CV)it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for (CW)forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for (CX)1,260 days, (CY)clothed in sackcloth.”

These are (CZ)the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, (DA)fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, (DB)this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power (DC)to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and (DD)to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, (DE)the beast that rises from (DF)the bottomless pit[f] (DG)will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically[g] is called (DH)Sodom and (DI)Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and (DJ)refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and (DK)those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and (DL)exchange presents, because these two prophets (DM)had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days (DN)a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, (DO)“Come up here!” And (DP)they went up to heaven (DQ)in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was (DR)a great earthquake, and (DS)a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and (DT)gave glory to (DU)the God of heaven.

14 (DV)The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Seventh Trumpet

15 Then (DW)the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and (DX)there were loud voices in heaven, saying, (DY)“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of (DZ)his Christ, and (EA)he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders (EB)who sit on their thrones before God (EC)fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    (ED)who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
    and (EE)begun to reign.
18 The nations raged,
    but (EF)your wrath came,
    and (EG)the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
    and (EH)those who fear your name,
    both small and great,
and (EI)for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

19 Then (EJ)God's temple in heaven was opened, and (EK)the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,[h] peals of thunder, an earthquake, and (EL)heavy hail.

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
  4. Revelation 9:11 Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer
  5. Revelation 9:17 Greek hyacinth
  6. Revelation 11:7 Or the abyss
  7. Revelation 11:8 Greek spiritually
  8. Revelation 11:19 Or voices, or sounds

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

10 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

11 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.