(l And I saw, in the right hand of him who was sitting on the throne, a book-roll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel who cried in a great voice: Who is worthy to open the book and break the seals on it? And no one in heaven or on the earth or below the earth was able to open the book, or to look at it. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book and look at it. And one of the elders said to me: Weep no more. See, the lion from the tribe of Judah, the scion of David, has prevailed to open the book and the seven seals upon it. And I saw, in the space between the throne and the four animals and the elders, in their midst, a Lamb standing, like one that has been slaughtered, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent about to all the earth. And he came and took it from the right hand of him who sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four animals and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the book and open the seals upon it, because you were sacrificed and you bought for God by your own blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and for our God you made them be a kingdom, and priests, and they shall be kings upon the earth.
And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels in a circle about the throne and the animals and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying in a great voice: The Lamb who has been sacrificed is worthy to receive the power and the riches and the wisdom and the strength and the honor and the glory and the blessing.
And I heard all creation, whatever is in the sky and on the earth and beneath the earth and in the sea, and everything which is within these, I heard them saying: To him who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever.
And the four animals said: Amen; and the elders fell down and worshipped.
t| And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four animals saying in a voice as of thunder: Come. And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the rider upon it holding a bow, and he was given a crown, and he came forth a conqueror and to conquer. And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second animal saying: Come. And there came forth another horse, red, and to the rider upon him it was granted to take peace out of the world, so that they shall kill each other, and he was given a great sword. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third animal saying: Come. And I looked, and behold, a black horse, and the rider upon him holding a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four animals, saying:
A measure of grain for a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius, and do not damage the oil and the wine. And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth animal saying: Come. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and the rider upon it, his name is Death, and Hades came following him, and he was given power over one quarter of the earth to kill by the sword and hunger and death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw beneath the altar the souls of those who have been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they maintained. And they cried out in a great voice, saying: How long, О Lord holy and true, will you wait to judge and to avenge our blood from those who live upon the earth? And each of them was given a white robe, and it was said to them that they must rest yet a little time until the number is filled of their fellow slaves and their brothers who are to be killed as they were. And I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and there came a great earthquake, and the sun turned black like cloth of hair, and all the moon became as blood, and the stars of the sky dropped upon the earth as the fig tree casts its unripe figs shaken by a great wind, and the sky shrank upon itself like a scroll curling, and every mountain and island was shaken from its place. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders of thousands and the rich and the strong, all, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us and hide us from the face of him who sits upon the throne and the anger of the Lamb, because the great day of their anger has come, and who can stand?
tl After that I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the world, so that no wind might blow upon the earth or upon the sea or upon any tree. And I saw another angel going up from the rising place of the sun, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried in a great voice to the four angels, to whom it was granted that they should devastate the earth and the sea, saying: Do not devastate the earth, or the sea, or the trees, until we mark with the seal the slaves of our God, upon their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were marked, a hundred and forty-four thousand were marked, from every tribe of the sons of Israeclass="underline" From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand marked with the seal;
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Naphthali, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Manassah, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Zebulon, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand marked with the seal.
After that I looked, and behold, a great multitude whose number none could count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white clothing, and palms in their hands; and they cry out in a great voice, saying: Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels stood in a circle about the throne and the elders and the four animals, and threw themselves down on their faces before the throneand worshipped God, saying: Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen.
Then one of the elders spoke to me and said: Who are these who have white robes put upon them, and where have they come from? And I said to him: My Lord, you know. And he said to me: These are they who have come out of the great persecution, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore these are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits upon the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. They will not be hungry or thirsty any more, nor shall the sun strike upon them, nor any burning heat, because the Lamb who is in the place before the throne will be their shepherd and guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes.