A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, (A)a great multitude that no one could number, (B)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (C)clothed in white robes, with (D)palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, (E)“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 (F)the four living creatures, and they (G)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 (H)saying, “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, (I)clothed 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 (J)the great tribulation. (K)They have washed their robes and (L)made them white (M)in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and (N)serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne (O)will shelter them with his presence.
16 (P)They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    (Q)the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne (R)will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of (S)living water,
and (T)God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb opened (U)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels (V)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood (W)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with (X)the prayers of all the saints on (Y)the golden altar before the throne, and (Z)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and (AA)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and (AB)there were peals of (AC)thunder, rumblings,[a] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:5 Or voices, or sounds

Praise from the Great Crowd

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar,

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
    and from the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. 12 They sang,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
    and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
    forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in[a] the great tribulation.[b] They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
    and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne
    will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
    they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne[c]
    will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
    And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

The Lamb Breaks the Seventh Seal

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll,[d] there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.

Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

Footnotes

  1. 7:14a Greek who came out of.
  2. 7:14b Or the great suffering.
  3. 7:17 Greek on the center of the throne.
  4. 8:1 Or book.