1 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. 2 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, 3 saying, “Don’t harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!” 4 I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel: 5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed, of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. 9 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. 10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 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 worshipped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13 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?” 14 I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering. They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. 15 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. 16 They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat; 17 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.”
Revelation · World English Bible British Edition (with Deuterocanon)
Revelation 7 World English Bible British Edition (with Deuterocanon)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- "World English Bible" is a trademark of eBible.org; the text is shown unaltered.
Cross references (16)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Matthew 24:31; Daniel 7:2; Jeremiah 49:36; Mark 13:27; Daniel 8:8
- 2 Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Revelation 7:3–8; Revelation 9:4; Ephesians 1:13
- 3 Ezekiel 9:4; Revelation 22:4; Revelation 9:4; Revelation 13:16; Exodus 12:13
- 4 Revelation 14:1; Revelation 14:3; Luke 22:30; Matthew 19:28; Acts 26:7
- 5 Exodus 1:2–4; Numbers 13:4–16; Numbers 10:14–27; Numbers 1:4–15; 1 Corinthians 2:1–2
- 6 Luke 2:36
- 7 Genesis 35:23; Numbers 26:14; Genesis 29:34; Numbers 1:22; Genesis 49:5
- 9 Revelation 5:9; John 12:13; Psalm 117:1–2; Revelation 7:13–15; Psalm 2:8
- 10 Revelation 19:1; Psalm 3:8; Isaiah 45:21; Revelation 12:10; Ephesians 2:8
- 11 Revelation 5:11–13; Revelation 19:4–6; Revelation 4:6; Revelation 4:10; Hebrews 1:6
- 12 Revelation 5:12–14; Jude 25; Colossians 3:17; Psalm 100:4; Revelation 19:4
- 13 Revelation 7:9; Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:11; Revelation 5:5; John 7:28
- 14 1 John 1:7; Revelation 22:14; Hebrews 13:12; Revelation 1:5; Revelation 12:11
- 15 Revelation 21:3–4; Revelation 22:3; Isaiah 4:5–6; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Hebrews 12:2
- 16 Isaiah 49:10; Matthew 5:6; John 4:14; Psalm 121:6; Luke 6:21
- 17 John 7:37–38; Psalm 36:8–9; John 4:14; Psalm 23:1–2; John 4:11
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… which the Church is a sojourner among aliens); or when multiplied into themselves, as ten into ten gives one hundred, and twelve into twelve gives one hundred and forty-four, which last number is used in the Apocalypse to signify the whole body of the saints. Hence it appears that it is not merely questions about times that are to be …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
The Apocalypse hath this written; "After this I beheld of all languages, and nations, and tribes, a great multitude, which no man can number, coming with white robes and palms." This is the mass of the saints.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)