⁴ I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁴ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁹ I asked, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel^(A) who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”^(B)

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes^(A)—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^(B) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.^(C)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable^(A) of the weeds in the field.”

⁶ I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.^(A)” And he added, “This is the iniquity^[a] of the people throughout the land.”

¹² Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

¹³ He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

¹⁴ So he said, “These are the two who are anointed^(A) to^[a] serve the Lord of all the earth.”

¹⁹ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”

He answered me, “These are the horns^(A) that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”

⁸ I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”

¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation^(A) of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people^(B) of the Most High will receive the kingdom^(C) and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’^(D)

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.