The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ethe seven seals, and I heard fone of the four living creatures say gwith a voice like thunder, h“Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, ia white horse! And jits rider had a bow, and ka crown was given to him, and he came out lconquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard mthe second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, nbright red. Its rider was permitted oto take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the mthird living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, pa black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, q“A quart1 of wheat for a denarius,2 and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and rdo not harm the oil and wine!”

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of mthe fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, sa pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill twith sword and with famine and with pestilence and uby wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under vthe altar wthe souls of those who had been slain xfor the word of God and for ythe witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, zholy and true, ahow long bbefore you will judge and cavenge our blood on dthose who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given ea white robe and ftold to rest a little longer, guntil the number of their fellow servants and their brothers4 hshould be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ithere was a great earthquake, and jthe sun became black as ksackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and lthe stars of the sky fell to the earth mas the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 nThe sky vanished mlike a scroll that is being rolled up, and oevery mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave5 and free, phid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 qcalling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of rhim who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for sthe great day of their wrath has come, and twho can stand?”

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back uthe four winds of the earth, vthat no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending wfrom the rising of the sun, with xthe seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, y“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God zon their foreheads.” 4 And aI heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5  12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

6  12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

7  12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

8  12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

9 After this I looked, and behold, ba great multitude that no one could number, cfrom every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dclothed in white robes, with epalm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, f“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and gthe four living creatures, and they hfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 isaying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, dclothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of jthe great tribulation. kThey have washed their robes and lmade them white min the blood of the Lamb.

15  “Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and nserve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne owill shelter them with his presence.

16  pThey shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

qthe sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

17  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne rwill be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of sliving water,

and tGod will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When the Lamb opened uthe seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels vwho stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood wat the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with xthe prayers of all the saints on ythe golden altar before the throne, 4 and zthe smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and afilled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and bthere were peals of cthunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.