Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech: Revelation | Page 6

another angel coming from the east and carrying a seal belonging to the ever-living God. He called in a loud voice to the four angels whose work it was to injure the earth and the sea. 007:003 "Injure neither land nor sea nor trees," he said, "until we have sealed the bondservants of our God upon their foreheads." 007:004 When the sealing was finished, I heard how many were sealed out of the tribes of the descendants of Israel. They were 144,000. 007:005 Of the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed; Of the tribe of Reuben, 12,000; Of the tribe of Gad, 12,000; 007:006 Of the tribe of Asher, 12,000; Of the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000; Of the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000; 007:007 Of the tribe of Symeon, 12,000; Of the tribe of Levi, 12,000; Of the tribe of Issachar, 12,000; 007:008 Of the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000; Of the tribe of Joseph, 12,000; Of the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000. 007:009 After this I looked, and a vast host appeared which it was impossible for anyone to count, gathered out of every nation and from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in long white robes, and carrying palm-branches in their hands. 007:010 In loud voices they were exclaiming, "It is to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, that we owe our salvation!" 007:011 All the angels were standing in a circle round the throne and round the Elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces in front of the throne and worshipped God. 007:012 "Even so!" they cried: "The blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanks and the honor and the power and the might are to be ascribed to our God, until the Ages of the Ages! Even so!" 007:013 Then, addressing me, one of the Elders said, "Who are these people clothed in the long white robes? And where have they come from?" 007:014 "My lord, you know," I replied. "They are those," he said, "who have just passed through the great distress, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 007:015 For this reason they stand before the very throne of God, and render Him service, day after day and night after night, in His sanctuary, and He who is sitting upon the throne will shelter them in His tent. 007:016 They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and never again will the sun or any scorching heat trouble them. 007:017 For the Lamb who is in front of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to watersprings of Life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes." 008:001 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for about half an hour. 008:002 Then I saw the seven angels who are in the presence of God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 008:003 And another angel came and stood close to the altar, carrying a censer of gold; and abundance of incense was given to him that he might place it with the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar which was in front of the throne. 008:004 And the smoke of the incense rose into the presence of God from the angel's hand, and mingled with the prayers of His people. 008:005 So the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and flung it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder, and voices, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 008:006 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made preparations for blowing them. 008:007 The first blew his trumpet; and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, falling upon the earth; and a third part of the earth was burnt up, and a third part of the trees and all the green grass. 008:008 The second angel blew his trumpet; and what seemed to be a great mountain, all ablaze with fire, was hurled into the sea; and a third part of the sea was turned into blood. 008:009 And a third part of the creatures that were in the sea--those that had life--died; and a third part of the ships were destroyed. 008:010 The third angel blew his trumpet; and there fell from Heaven a great star, which was on fire like a torch. It fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the springs of water. 008:011 The name of the star is `Wormwood;' and a third part of the waters were turned into wormwood, and vast numbers of the people died from drinking the water, because it had become bitter.