Revelation 7:1-16

New American Standard Bible

An Interlude

7 After this I saw ^(A)four angels standing at the ^(B)four corners of the earth, holding back ^(C)the four winds of the earth ^(D)so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. ²And I saw another angel ascending ^(E)from the rising of the sun, holding the ^(F)seal of ^(G)the living God; and he called out with a loud voice to the ^(H)four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, ³saying, “^(I)Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have ^(J)sealed the bond-servants of our God on their ^(K)foreheads.”

The 144,000

⁴And I heard the ^(L)number of those who were sealed: ^(M)144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, ⁶from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, ⁷from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, ⁸from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Tribulation

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from ^(N)every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing ^(O)before the throne and ^(P)before the Lamb, clothed in ^(Q)white robes, and ^(R)palm branches were in their hands; ¹⁰and they *cried out with a loud voice, saying,

“^(S)Salvation belongs to our God ^(T)who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

¹¹And all the angels were standing ^(U)around the throne and around ^(V)the elders and the ^(W)four living creatures; and they ^(X)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying,

“^(Y)Amen, ^(Z)blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever. ^(AA)Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders ^(AB)responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the ^(AC)white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴I ^[a]said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the ^(AD)great tribulation, and they have ^(AE)washed their robes and made them ^(AF)white in the ^(AG)blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵For this reason they are ^(AH)before the throne of God, and they ^(AI)serve Him day and night in His ^[b]^(AJ)temple; and ^(AK)He who sits on the throne will spread His ^(AL)tabernacle over them. ¹⁶^(AM)They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun ^[c]beat down on them, nor any scorching heat;