Revelation 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Sealed of Israel
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,(A) restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel, who had the seal of the living God rise up from the east. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered[a] to harm the earth and the sea: 3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed:
144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:
5 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah,
12,000[b] from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 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
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
Salvation belongs to our God,
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!
11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures, and 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. Amen.
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from?”
14 I said to him, “Sir,[c] you know.”
Then he told me:
These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
They washed their robes and made them white(B)
in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary.
The One seated on the throne will shelter[d] them:
16 They will no longer hunger;
they will no longer thirst;
the sun will no longer strike them,
nor will any heat.(C)
17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will shepherd them;(D)
He will guide them to springs of living waters,(E)
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.(F)
Footnotes
- Revelation 7:2 Lit angels to whom it was given
- Revelation 7:5 Other mss add sealed after each number
- Revelation 7:14 Lit My lord
- Revelation 7:15 Or will spread His tent over
Revelation 7
Easy-to-Read Version
The 144,000 People of Israel
7 After this happened I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. The angels were holding the four winds of the earth. They were stopping the wind from blowing on the land or the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming from the east. This angel had the seal of the living God. The angel called out in a loud voice to the four angels. These were the four angels that God had given the power to hurt the earth and the sea. The angel said to them, 3 “Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees before we mark the foreheads of those who serve our God.”
4 Then I heard how many people had God’s mark on their foreheads. There were 144,000. They were from every tribe of the people of Israel:
5 from the tribe of Judah 12,000
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000
from the tribe of Gad 12,000
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000
from the tribe of Levi 12,000
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000
The Great Crowd
9 Then I looked, and there was a large crowd of people. There were so many people that no one could count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They all wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands. 10 They shouted loudly, “Victory belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
11 The elders and the four living beings were there. All the angels were standing around them and the throne. The angels bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. 12 They said, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people in white robes? Where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “You know who they are, sir.”
And the elder said, “These are the ones who have come out of the great suffering. They have washed their robes[a] with the blood of the Lamb, and they are clean and white. 15 So now these people are before the throne of God. They worship God day and night in his temple. And the one who sits on the throne will protect them. 16 They will never be hungry again. They will never be thirsty again. The sun will not hurt them. No heat will burn them. 17 The Lamb in front of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of water that give life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 7:14 washed their robes Meaning that they had believed in Jesus and had been made clean from sin by his blood sacrifice. See Rev. 5:9; Heb. 9:14; 10:14-22; Acts 22:16; 1 Jn. 1:7.
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