The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 7 -

And after these things I saw four messengers, standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind may not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree;

and I saw another messenger going up from the rising of the sun, having a seal of the living God, and he cried with a great voice to the four messengers, to whom it was given to injure the land and the sea, saying,

“Do not injure the land, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we may seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

And I heard the number of those sealed—one hundred forty-four thousand, having been sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel:

of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;

of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;

of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;

of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

Praise from the Great Multitude

After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no one was able to number, out of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, having been clothed [in] white robes, and palms in their hands,

and crying with a great voice, saying, “Salvation to our God, the [One] sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

And all the messengers stood around the throne, and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces and worshiped God,

saying, “Amen! The blessing, and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honor, and the power, and the strength, [are] to our God through the ages of the ages! Amen!”

And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These having been clothed with the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?”

And I have said to him, “Lord, you have known”; and he said to me, “These are those who are coming out of the Great Tribulation, and they washed their robes, and they made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb;

because of this they are before the throne of God, and they do service to Him day and night in His temple, and He who is sitting on the throne will dwell over them;

they will not hunger anymore, nor may the sun fall on them, nor any heat,

because the Lamb that [is] in the midst of the throne will feed them, and will lead them to living fountains of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.

I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea,

saying, “Don’t harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!”

I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:

of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed, of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,

of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,

of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

Praise from the Great Multitude

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God,

saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?”

I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering.(a) They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them.

They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat;

for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

(a)7:14 or, oppression