1. After this I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth. This kept the winds from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
2. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east. He had the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and the sea.
3. "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees," he said. "Wait until we mark with a seal the foreheads of those who serve our God."
4. Then I heard how many people were sealed. There were 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5. From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed. From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000. From the tribe of Gad, 12,000.
6. From the tribe of Asher, 12,000. From the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000. From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000.