Revelation 7
Expanded Bible
The 144,000 People of Israel
7 After ·the vision of these things [L this] I saw four angels standing at the four corners [C from every direction] of the earth. The angels were ·holding [restraining] the four winds [Dan. 7:2; 8:8; 11:4] of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the ·east [L rising of the sun] who had the seal [5:1] of the living God. And he ·called out [cried out; shouted] in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given power to ·harm [damage] the earth and the sea. 3 He said to them, “Do not ·harm [damage] the land or the sea or the trees until we ·mark with a sign [place a seal upon] the foreheads [C to spare them from harm; Ezek. 9:4–6] of the ·people who serve [L the slaves/servants of] our God.” 4 Then I heard how many people were ·marked with the sign [sealed]. There were one hundred forty-four thousand [C the square of 12 multiplied by 1000; a symbolic number indicating completeness] from every tribe of the ·people [children; sons] of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were ·marked with the sign [sealed],
from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh [C one of the two sons of Joseph; he replaces Dan in the list, perhaps because the tribe of Dan fell into idolatry; Judg. 18] twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand [C in OT lists Manasseh and Ephraim are named instead of their father Joseph; here Joseph replaces Ephraim, perhaps because of Ephraim’s bad reputation],
and from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were ·marked with the sign [sealed].
The Great Crowd Worships God
9 After ·the vision of these things [L these things] I looked, and ·there was a great number of people [L behold a great crowd/multitude], so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes [C signifying high status and purity] and holding palm branches [C used to celebrate a festive occasion, specifically a victory] in their hands. 10 They were ·shouting [crying out] in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 [L And] All the angels were standing around the throne and the elders [4:4] and the four living creatures. They all ·bowed [fell] down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”]! ·Praise [Blessing], glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and ·strength [might] belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white robes? Where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “You know, ·sir [or my lord].”
And the elder said to me, “These are the people who have come out of the great ·distress [persecution; tribulation]. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [C having believed in Jesus, their sins are forgiven through Christ’s death and resurrection]. 15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God. They worship him day and night in his temple. And the One who sits on the throne will ·be present with [dwell with; or shelter; spread his tent over] them. 16 Those people will never be hungry again, and they will never be thirsty again. The sun will not ·hurt [strike; beat on; Is. 49:10] them, and no [scorching] heat will burn them, 17 because the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd [Ps. 23; John 10]. He will ·lead [guide] them to springs of ·water that give life [living water; the water of life; John 4:14]. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes [21:4; Is. 25:8].”
Revelation 7
New International Reader's Version
144,000 People Are Marked With the Seal of the Living God
7 After this I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth. This kept the winds from blowing on the land or the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east. He brought the official seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels. They had been allowed to harm the land and the sea. 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees,” he said. “Wait until we mark with this seal the foreheads of those who serve our God.” 4 Then I heard how many people were marked with the seal. There were 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were marked with the seal.
From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000.
From the tribe of Gad, 12,000.
6 From the tribe of Asher, 12,000.
From the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000.
From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000.
7 From the tribe of Simeon, 12,000.
From the tribe of Levi, 12,000.
From the tribe of Issachar, 12,000.
8 From the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000.
From the tribe of Joseph, 12,000.
From the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000.
The Huge Crowd Wearing White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there in front of me was a huge crowd of people. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. There were so many that no one could count them. They came from every nation, tribe and people. That’s true no matter what language they spoke. They were wearing white robes. In their hands they were holding palm branches. 10 They cried out in a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne.
Salvation also belongs to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing around the throne. They were standing around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces in front of the throne and worshiped God. 12 They said,
“Amen!
May praise and glory
and wisdom be given to our God for ever and ever.
Give him thanks and honor and power and strength.
Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders spoke to me. “Who are these people dressed in white robes?” he asked. “Where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
He said, “They are the ones who have come out of the time of terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 So
“they are in front of the throne of God.
They serve him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne
will be with them to keep them safe.
16 ‘Never again will they be hungry.
Never again will they be thirsty.
The sun will not beat down on them.’ (Isaiah 49:10)
The heat of the desert will not harm them.
17 The Lamb, who is at the center of the area around the throne,
will be their shepherd.
‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ (Isaiah 49:10)
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ” (Isaiah 25:8)
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