I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
Parallel translations
- KJV And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
- BSB And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:
- NKJV And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
- NASB And I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
- NLT And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John hears the number of the sealed: 144,000 from the tribes of Israel. The figure symbolizes the complete, secure people of God.
Overview
The number, twelve tribes times twelve thousand, conveys completeness and order, the full company of God's redeemed. Interpreters debate whether this denotes ethnic Israel specifically or the whole church as the true Israel; the contrast with the countless multitude in verse 9 leads many to see one people viewed from two angles. Either way, none of God's own is lost; all are sealed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Rev 14:1I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
- Rev 14:3They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth.
- Luke 22:30that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
- Matt 19:28Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Acts 26:7which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa!
- Ezek 48:31and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.
- Rom 9:27Isaiah cries concerning Israel, “If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved;
- Jas 1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
- Rom 11:5–6Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
- Rev 9:16The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million. I heard the number of them.
- Ezek 47:13Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
- Zech 9:1A revelation. Yahweh’s word is against the land of Hadrach, and will rest upon Damascus; for the eye of man and of all the tribes of Israel is toward Yahweh;
- Ezek 48:19Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.
- Gen 15:5Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So will your offspring be.”
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 7:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.