REVELATION 7 [†]After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back  u the four winds of the earth,  v that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2Then I saw another angel ascending  w from the rising of the sun, with  x the 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, 3saying,  y “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants [1] of our God  z on their foreheads.” 4[†]And  a I 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.

9[†]After this I looked, and behold,  b a great multitude that no one could number,  c from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,  d clothed in white robes, with  e palm 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!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and  g the four living creatures, and they  h fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 i 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,  d clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I 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.”