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.

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.”

Les cent quarante-quatre mille marqués du sceau de Dieu[a]

Après cela, je vis quatre anges ; ils se tenaient debout aux quatre coins de la terre. Ils retenaient les quatre vents de la terre pour qu’aucun vent ne souffle ni sur la terre, ni sur la mer, ni sur aucun arbre.

Et je vis un autre ange monter du côté de l’orient. Il tenait le sceau du Dieu vivant. Il cria d’une voix forte aux quatre anges auxquels Dieu avait donné le pouvoir de ravager la terre et la mer. Il leur dit : Ne faites pas de mal à la terre, à la mer, ni aux arbres, tant que nous n’avons pas marqué du sceau le front des serviteurs de notre Dieu[b].

J’entendis le nombre de ceux qui furent ainsi marqués : ils étaient cent quarante-quatre mille de toutes les tribus du peuple d’Israël à porter cette marque : douze mille de la tribu de Juda marqués du sceau, douze mille de la tribu de Ruben, douze mille de la tribu de Gad, douze mille de la tribu d’Aser, douze mille de la tribu de Nephtali, douze mille de la tribu de Manassé, douze mille de la tribu de Siméon, douze mille de la tribu de Lévi, douze mille de la tribu d’Issacar, douze mille de la tribu de Zabulon, douze mille de la tribu de Joseph, douze mille de la tribu de Benjamin, marqués du sceau.

L’Eglise triomphante

Après cela, je vis une foule immense, que nul ne pouvait dénombrer. C’étaient des gens de toute nation, de toute tribu, de tout peuple, de toute langue. Ils se tenaient debout devant le trône et devant l’Agneau, vêtus de tuniques blanches et ils avaient à la main des branches de palmiers[c]. 10 Ils proclamaient d’une voix forte : Le salut appartient à notre Dieu qui siège sur le trône, et à l’Agneau.

11 Et tous les anges se tenaient debout tout autour du trône, des représentants du peuple de Dieu et des quatre êtres vivants. Ils se prosternèrent face contre terre devant le trône et ils adorèrent Dieu en disant :

12 Amen !
A notre Dieu soient la louange,
la gloire et la sagesse,
la reconnaissance et l’honneur,
la puissance et la force
pour toute éternité !
Amen !

13 Alors l’un des représentants du peuple de Dieu prit la parole et me demanda : Ces gens vêtus d’une tunique blanche, qui sont-ils et d’où sont-ils venus ?

14 Je lui répondis : Mon seigneur, c’est toi qui le sais.

Il reprit : Ce sont ceux qui viennent de la grande détresse. Ils ont lavé et blanchi leurs tuniques dans le sang de l’Agneau. 15 C’est pourquoi ils se tiennent devant le trône de Dieu et lui rendent un culte nuit et jour dans son temple. Et celui qui siège sur le trône les abritera sous sa tente[d].

16 Ils ne connaîtront plus ni la faim, ni la soif ; ils ne souffriront plus des ardeurs du soleil, ni d’aucune chaleur brûlante[e]. 17 Car l’Agneau qui est au milieu du trône prendra soin d’eux comme un berger, il les conduira vers les sources d’eaux vives, et Dieu lui-même essuiera toute larme de leurs yeux[f].

Footnotes

  1. 7.0 Voir Ez 9.
  2. 7.3 Scène inspirée d’Ez 9.4.
  3. 7.9 Lors de la fête des Cabanes, les Israélites entraient en cortège dans le Temple en chantant le Ps 118 et en agitant des branches de palmiers en signe de joie et de victoire.
  4. 7.15 Es 4.6.
  5. 7.16 Es 49.10.
  6. 7.17 Es 25.8.

144,000 Sealed

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners(A) of the earth, holding back the four winds(B) of the earth to prevent(C) any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal(D) of the living God.(E) He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:(F) “Do not harm(G) the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads(H) of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number(I) of those who were sealed: 144,000(J) 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,(K) standing before the throne(L) and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes(M) and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

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

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders(P) and the four living creatures.(Q) They fell down on their faces(R) 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!”(S)

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes(T)—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(U) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.(V) 15 Therefore,

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

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10
  2. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10
  3. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8