The Book with Seven Seals
1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
The Lamb is Worthy
5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
The Lamb Exalted
11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
1 I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals. 2 I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?” 3 No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it. 4 And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.
5 One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.”
6 I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, 10 and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on earth.”
The Lamb Exalted
11 I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!” 13 I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!” 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen!” The elders fell down and worshiped.
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
1 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look inside it. 4 And I began to weep bitterly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven Spirits a of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne.
8 When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song:
“Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals,
because You were slain,
and by Your blood You purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom
and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign upon b the earth.”
The Lamb Exalted
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To Him who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power
forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. c
Footnotes:
6 a Or the sevenfold Spirit
10 b Or they will reign over ; WH they reign upon
14 c TR includes Him who lives for ever and ever .
The Book with Seven Seals
1And I saw upon the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne a scroll, written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2and I saw a strong messenger crying with a great voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose the seals of it?' 3and no one was able in the heaven, nor upon the earth, nor under the earth, to open the scroll, nor to behold it. 4And I was weeping much, because no one was found worthy to open and to read the scroll, nor to behold it,
The Lamb is Worthy
5and one of the elders saith to me, 'Weep not; lo, overcome did the Lion, who is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, to open the scroll, and to loose the seven seals of it;
6and I saw, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb hath stood as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the Seven Spirits of God, which are sent to all the earth, 7and he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne. 8And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each one harps and golden vials full of perfumes, which are the prayers of the saints, 9and they sing a new song, saying, 'Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, 10and didst make us to our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth.'
The Lamb Exalted
11And I saw, and I heard the voice of many messengers round the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders -- and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands -- 12saying with a great voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!' 13and every creature that is in the heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and the things that are upon the sea, and the all things in them, heard I saying, 'To Him who is sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, is the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the might -- to the ages of the ages!' 14and the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the twenty-four elders fell down and they bow before Him who is living to the ages of the ages.
The Favor of God paraphrase
The Scroll and the Lamb
¹ Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed! He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because You were slain,
and with Your blood You purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
Worship of the Lamb
¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Footnotes:
1.The scroll with seven seals (verse 1) represents God’s plan for history and judgment. The seals symbolize completeness and secrecy, which only someone worthy can open.
2.The title “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (verse 5) refers to Jesus’ royal lineage from David (Genesis 49:9), emphasizing His authority to fulfill God’s promises. The “Root of David” points to His role as the Messiah who fulfills the Davidic covenant (Isaiah 11:1).
3.The Lamb (verse 6) is a central image in Revelation, symbolizing Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The “seven horns” represent His perfect power, and the “seven eyes” symbolize His omniscience, alluding to the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
4.The “harps” (verse 8) represent worship, and the “golden bowls of incense” symbolize the prayers of believers rising to God (Psalm 141:2). The idea is that prayers are precious and always before God.
5.The “new song” (verse 9) is a song of redemption, celebrating the victory and sacrifice of Jesus, who made salvation available to people from every nation, fulfilling the promise to bless all families of the earth (Genesis 12:3).
6.The multitude of angels (verse 11) emphasizes the vast and overwhelming chorus of heavenly worship, expressing the universal recognition of the Lamb’s worthiness.
7.The phrase “under the earth” (verse 13) includes all of creation, both seen and unseen, joining in praise. This reflects the universal scope of God’s dominion and Christ’s victory.
