Revelation 7
Complete Jewish Bible
7 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the land, on the sea or on any tree. 2 I saw another angel coming up from the east with a seal from the living God, and he shouted to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea, 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!” 4 I heard how many were sealed — 144,000 from every tribe of the people of Isra’el:
| 5 From the tribe of Y’hudah | 12,000 were sealed |
| from the tribe of Re’uven | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of Gad, | 12,000 |
| 6 from the tribe of Asher | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of Naftali | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of M’nasheh | 12,000 |
| 7 from the tribe of Shim‘on | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of Levi | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of Yissakhar | 12,000 |
| 8 from the tribe of Z’vulun | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of Yosef | 12,000 |
| from the tribe of Binyamin | 12,000 |
9 After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands; 10 and they shouted,
“Victory to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders and the four living beings; they fell face down before the throne and worshipped God, saying,
12 “Amen!
“Praise and glory, wisdom and thanks,
honor and power and strength
belong to our God forever and ever!
“Amen!”
13 One of the elders asked me, “These people dressed in white robes — who are they, and where are they from?” 14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” Then he told me, “These are the people who have come out of the Great Persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb. 15 That is why they are before God’s throne.
“Day and night they serve him in his Temple;
and the One who sits on the throne
will put his Sh’khinah upon them.
16 “They will never again be hungry,
they will never again be thirsty,
the sun will not beat down on them,
nor will any burning heat.[a]
17 “For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will shepherd them, will lead them
to springs of living water,[b]
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”[c]
Footnotes
- Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10
- Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10; Jeremiah 2:13; Ezekiel 34:23; Psalm 23:1–2
- Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8
Revelation 7
Amplified Bible
An Interlude
7 After this I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, holding back the [a]four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.(A) 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the rising of the sun, holding the seal of the living God; and with a loud voice he called out to the four angels to whom it was granted [to have authority and power] to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth nor the sea nor the trees until we [b]seal (mark) the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”(B)
The 144,000
4 And I heard how many were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand; [twelve thousand] sealed from [c]every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5
Twelve thousand were sealed from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad,
6
twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh,
7
twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar,
8
twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, and twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed (marked, redeemed, protected).
A Multitude from the Tribulation
9 After these things I looked, and this is what I saw: a vast multitude which no one could count, [gathered] from every nation and from all the tribes and peoples and languages [of the earth], standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Christ), dressed in white robes, with [d]palm branches in their hands; 10 and in a loud voice they cried out, saying,
“Salvation [belongs] to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [our salvation is the Trinity’s to give, and to God the Trinity we owe our deliverance].” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the [twenty-four] elders and the four living creatures; and they fell to their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and majesty and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders responded, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the long white robes—who are they, and from where did they come?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know [the answer].” And he said to me, “These are the people who come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [because of His atoning sacrifice].(C) 15 For this reason, they are [standing] before the throne of God; and they serve Him [in worship] day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will [e]spread His tabernacle over them and shelter and protect them [with His presence].(D) 16 They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun [f]beat down on them, nor any [scorching] heat;(E) 17 for the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes [giving them eternal comfort].”(F)
Footnotes
- Revelation 7:1 The Jews and other ancient peoples were very observant of the four winds, that is, the winds that came from each point of the compass. It was said in the Talmud that if the winds ceased to blow, the world could not continue to exist.
- Revelation 7:3 The seal indicates both ownership and protection by God.
- Revelation 7:4 The tribe of Dan is omitted from the following passage without explanation. The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s older son, replaces Dan, so the count remains at twelve.
- Revelation 7:9 I.e. symbols of victory and joy used on festive occasions.
- Revelation 7:15 Lit pitch His tent.
- Revelation 7:16 Lit fall.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
