Revelation 5-9

English Standard Version

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ^(A)a scroll written within and on the back, ^(B)sealed with seven seals. ² And ^(C)I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, ^(D)the Lion ^(E)of the tribe of Judah, ^(F)the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw ^(G)a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with ^(H)seven eyes, which are ^(I)the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders ^(J)fell down before the Lamb, ^(K)each holding a harp, and ^(L)golden bowls full of incense, ^(M)which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang ^(N)a new song, saying,

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering ^(S)myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

¹³ And I heard ^(U)every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

¹⁴ And the four living creatures ^(V)said, “Amen!” and the elders ^(W)fell down and worshiped.

The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^(X)the seven seals, and I heard ^(Y)one of the four living creatures say ^(Z)with a voice like thunder, ^(AA)“Come!” ² And I looked, and behold, ^(AB)a white horse! And ^(AC)its rider had a bow, and ^(AD)a crown was given to him, and he came out ^(AE)conquering, and to conquer.

³ When he opened the second seal, I heard ^(AF)the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And out came another horse, ^(AG)bright red. Its rider was permitted ^(AH)to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the ^(AI)third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^(AJ)a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^(AK)“A quart^[a] of wheat for a denarius,^[b] and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^(AL)do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of ^(AM)the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, ^(AN)a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^(AO)with sword and with famine and with pestilence and ^(AP)by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^(AQ)the altar ^(AR)the souls of those who had been slain ^(AS)for the word of God and for ^(AT)the witness they had borne. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^(AU)holy and true, ^(AV)how long ^(AW)before you will judge and ^(AX)avenge our blood on ^(AY)those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then they were each given ^(AZ)a white robe and ^(BA)told to rest a little longer, ^(BB)until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{[c] (BC)}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ^(BD)there was a great earthquake, and ^(BE)the sun became black as ^(BF)sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and ^(BG)the stars of the sky fell to the earth ^(BH)as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ^14 (BI)The sky vanished ^(BJ)like a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^(BK)every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave^[d] and free, ^(BL)hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ^16 (BM)calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^(BN)him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for ^(BO)the great day of their wrath has come, and ^(BP)who can stand?”

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back ^(BQ)the four winds of the earth, ^(BR)that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. ² Then I saw another angel ascending ^(BS)from the rising of the sun, with ^(BT)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, ³ saying, ^(BU)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God ^(BV)on their foreheads.” ⁴ And ^(BW)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, ^(BX)a great multitude that no one could number, ^(BY)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, ^(BZ)clothed in white robes, with ^(CA)palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, ^(CB)“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 ^(CC)the four living creatures, and they ^(CD)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ^12 (CE)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, ^(CF)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 ^(CG)the great tribulation. ^(CH)They have washed their robes and ^(CI)made them white ^(CJ)in the blood of the Lamb.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When the Lamb opened ^(CR)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels ^(CS)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ And another angel came and stood ^(CT)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with ^(CU)the prayers of all the saints on ^(CV)the golden altar before the throne, ⁴ and ^(CW)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer and ^(CX)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and ^(CY)there were peals of ^(CZ)thunder, rumblings,^[e] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

⁶ Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed ^(DA)hail and ^(DB)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a ^(DC)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of ^(DD)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ^(DE)a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ^(DF)became blood. ⁹ A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of ^(DG)the ships were destroyed.

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

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of ^(DL)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, ^(DM)“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!”

9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and ^(DN)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given ^(DO)the key to the shaft of ^(DP)the bottomless pit.^{[g] 2} He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft ^(DQ)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and ^(DR)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³ Then from the smoke came ^(DS)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told ^(DT)not to harm ^(DU)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have ^(DV)the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were allowed to torment them ^(DW)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ And in those days ^(DX)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

^7 (DY)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: ^(DZ)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were ^(EA)like human faces, ⁸ their hair like women's hair, and ^(EB)their teeth like lions' teeth; ⁹ they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was ^(EC)like the noise of many chariots with ^(ED)horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people ^(EE)for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have ^(EF)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is ^(EG)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.^[h]

^12 (EH)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 ^(EI)the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release ^(EJ)the four angels who are bound at ^(EK)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 ^(EL)to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of ^(EM)mounted troops was ^(EN)twice ten thousand times ten thousand; ^(EO)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^[i] and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were ^(EP)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, ^(EQ)did not repent of ^(ER)the works of their hands nor give up worshiping ^(ES)demons ^(ET)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 ^(EU)sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.