The Great Multitude in White Robes

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,^(A) standing before the throne^(B) and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes^(C) and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

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

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes^(J)—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^(K) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.^{(L) 15} Therefore,

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under^(A) the altar^(B) the souls of those who had been slain^(C) because of the word of God^(D) and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long,^(E) Sovereign Lord,^(F) holy and true,^(G) until you judge the inhabitants of the earth^(H) and avenge our blood?”^{(I) 11} Then each of them was given a white robe,^(J) and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,^[a] were killed just as they had been.^(K)

⁴ I saw thrones^(A) on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.^(B) And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded^(C) because of their testimony about Jesus^(D) and because of the word of God.^(E) They^[a] had not worshiped the beast^(F) or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.^(G) They came to life and reigned^(H) with Christ a thousand years.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord^(A) from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit,^(B) “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”