Revelation 7

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

1And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

Note"The four corners of the earth" and "the four winds" were ordinary ancient ways of saying the whole world and the winds from all four directions: north, south, east and west. The picture is of the entire earth's weather being held still at once.

2And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea.

2And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

NoteA seal was a signet ring or carved stone pressed into soft wax or clay. It marked a document as genuine, kept it closed, and showed whose it was. The angel carries the stamp itself, not an impression of it. "From the east" is literally "from the rising of the sun."

3He said, "Do not harm the land, or the sea, or the trees, until we have put a mark on the foreheads of the servants of our God."

3Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

NoteMarking foreheads picks up an older image: in Ezekiel 9 a scribe marks the foreheads of those to be spared before a city is struck. In the ancient world a visible mark on the body could also identify a slave as belonging to a particular owner, or a soldier to a particular commander.

4And I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal: 144,000, from all the tribes of the people of Israel.

4And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Note144,000 is twelve thousand from each of twelve tribes, that is twelve times twelve thousand. Numbers in this book are regularly built out of twelves, sevens and thousands rather than presented as plain counts.

5From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed. From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000. From the tribe of Gad, 12,000.

5Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

NoteThe King James prints the tribal names in their Greek forms, which is why they look unfamiliar: "Juda" is Judah, and in the verses following "Aser" is Asher, "Nephthalim" is Naphtali, "Manasses" is Manasseh, and "Zabulon" is Zebulun.

6From the tribe of Asher, 12,000. From the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000. From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000.

6Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

7From the tribe of Simeon, 12,000. From the tribe of Levi, 12,000. From the tribe of Issachar, 12,000.

7Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.

8From the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000. From the tribe of Joseph, 12,000. From the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000.

8Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

NoteThis list of twelve differs from the usual Old Testament lists. Dan is absent; Levi, normally counted apart as the priestly tribe and left out of territorial lists, is included; and Joseph appears alongside his son Manasseh, where lists usually name Joseph's two sons Ephraim and Manasseh instead.

9After this I looked, and there was a huge crowd that no one could count. They came from every nation, family, people, and language. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes, holding palm branches in their hands.

9After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

NotePalm branches were carried in processions of celebration and victory, and white robes were festival dress. "Kindreds" in the King James means clans or extended families, and "tongues" means languages.

10They shouted in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

10And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Note"Salvation to our God" is a shout of acclamation, not a wish or a request. It means rescue belongs to God and comes from him, in the same way a crowd might shout that victory belongs to a king.

11All the angels were standing around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell facedown in front of the throne and worshiped God.

11And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

Note"Beasts" in the King James does not mean animals in the modern sense. The Greek word means living creatures, and it refers to the four figures around the throne described earlier in the book. The elders are the twenty-four enthroned figures of chapter 4.

12They said, "Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen."

12Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Note"Amen" is a Hebrew word carried over untranslated into Greek and then into English. It means roughly "truly" or "let it stand," and it was said to endorse a statement or a blessing as one's own.

13Then one of the elders spoke up and asked me, "Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?"

13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

Note"Answered" in the King James often means simply that someone spoke up or began to speak. Here the elder is not replying to anything; he starts the exchange.

14I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who came out of the great time of suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Note"Sir" translates a Greek word of respectful address used to a superior, the same word elsewhere translated "lord." "Tribulation" translates a Greek word whose basic sense is pressure or crushing, used for hard affliction from outside, not inner distress.

15That is why they are in front of God's throne, and serve him day and night in his temple. And the one who sits on the throne will spread his shelter over them and live with them.

15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

NoteThe King James "dwell among them" renders a Greek verb built from the word for a tent. It means to pitch a tent over or among people, and it deliberately recalls the tabernacle, the tent in which God was said to travel with Israel in the wilderness.

16They will never be hungry again, and never be thirsty again. The sun will not beat down on them, and no burning heat will touch them.

16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

NoteThese lines are quoted almost word for word from Isaiah 49:10, a promise about exiles being brought home across desert country, where hunger, thirst and the sun were the real dangers of the journey.

17For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will be their shepherd and care for them. He will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Note"Feed them" is narrower in modern English than the King James intends. The Greek verb means to shepherd: to pasture, guide and protect a flock. "Living fountains of waters" means springs of fresh running water, as opposed to the still water of a cistern or pool. The closing line is drawn from Isaiah 25:8.