Revelation 7
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
After this I saw four angels. One was standing at the north, one at the east, one at the south, and one at the west. They were restraining the winds that blew from all directions [MTY] to keep them from blowing [destructively] on the earth or on the ocean or even on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
I saw another angel come up from the east. He was carrying God’s seal. [With this] seal God, who is all-powerful, marks [his own people to protect them]. The angel called out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom [he] had given [power] to harm the earth and the ocean. He said
3 “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
[to them], “Do not harm the earth or the ocean or the trees until we [(exc)] have marked the servants of our [(inc)] God on their foreheads.”
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:
[Then the angel and his fellow angels marked all God’s servants]. I heard the number of people who were marked {whom [the angels] marked} [because of their being God’s servants. The number was] 144,000. They were from all the tribes of Israel. [They symbolized the complete number of people whom God would protect].
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
[The angels] marked 12,000 people from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12.000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, and 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin.
9 After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
After these things I saw a huge crowd. There were so [many people] that no one would be able to count them. [They were] from every nation, every tribe, every people-group, and every language [MTY]. They were standing before the throne and before [Jesus, the one who is like a] lamb. They were wearing white robes and held palm branches [to wave them in order to celebrate].
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
They shouted loudly, “[O] our [(exc)] God, you who sit on the throne, and [Jesus, you who are like a] lamb, [you two] have delivered [us(exc) from Satan’s power]!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living [creatures]. They all bowed down before the throne with their faces [to the ground] and worshipped God.
12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (aiōn g165)
They said, “May it be so! [We(exc)] praise, thank, and honor [you], our [(exc)] God, forever! [We(exc) acknowledge] that you are completely wise, the powerful one, who is forever able to accomplish everything he wants to. (May everyone acknowlege that it is so!/Amen!)” (aiōn g165)
13 Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
Then one of the elders asked me, “These [people] who are wearing white robes, [do you know] who they are, and where they come from?”
14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
I answered him, “Sir, [I do not know. Surely] you know [who they are]!” He said to me, “These are the people (whom [others] have caused to suffer greatly/who [have been persecuted]). [Because they believed that Jesus, the one who is like a sacrificial] lamb, [atoned for our sin when] his blood [flowed from his body when he died, it is as though] [MET] they have washed their robes and have made them [clean and] white.
15 For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
Because of this, they are in front of God’s throne, and they serve him day and night in his [heavenly temple. God], the one who sits on the throne, will shelter/protect them [MTY].
16 ‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
[As a result], they will never again be hungry. They will never again be thirsty. The sun will never again (beat on/burn) them, nor will any heat [scorch them].
17 For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
This is because the [one who is like a] lamb who is at the throne will [take care of them, just like] a shepherd [takes care of his sheep] [MET]. He will guide them [to the source of eternal life, just like a shepherd leads his sheep] to springs of water, [which enable the sheep] to live [MET]. God will [cause them to no longer be sad. It will be as if he were] wiping away all tears from their eyes [MTY].”
