New English Translation
Revelation 7:3
3“Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
Revelation 7:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
- New King James Version (NKJV)saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Context of Revelation 7:3
1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission to damage the earth and the sea: “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4Now I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all the tribes of the people of Israel: 5From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
Read all of Revelation 7Revelation 7:3 word by word
λέγων· μὴ ἀδικήσητε τὴν γῆν μήτε τὴν θάλασσαν μήτε τὰ δένδρα ἄχρι σφραγίσωμεν τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Hurtἀδικέωadikeō · to harmG91
- notμήmē · notG3361
- the earthὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
- neitherμήτεmēte · neitherG3383
- the seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281
- the treesδένδρονdendron · treeG1186
- tillἄχριachri achris · untilG891
- ·ὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- we have sealedσφραγίζωsphragizō · to sealG4972
- the servantsδοῦλοςdoulos · slaveG1401
- of ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- inἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- foreheadsμέτωπονmetopon · foreheadG3359
Cross-references for Revelation 7:3
- Revelation 6:6Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”
- Revelation 9:4They were told not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their forehead.
- Isaiah 6:13Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”
- Isaiah 27:8When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; he drives her away with his strong wind in the day of the east wind.
- Isaiah 65:8This is what the Lord says: “When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes, someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ So I will do for the sake of my servants – I will not destroy everyone.
- Matthew 24:22And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
- Revelation 14:1Then I looked, and here was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Exodus 12:13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see the blood I will pass over you, and this plague will not fall on you to destroy you when I attack the land of Egypt.
- Isaiah 26:20Go, my people! Enter your inner rooms! Close your doors behind you! Hide for a little while, until his angry judgment is over!
- Exodus 9:4But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing will die of all that the Israelites have.”’”
- Zephaniah 2:3Seek the Lord’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
- Revelation 19:2because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!”
- Isaiah 54:17No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed; you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. This is what the Lord will do for his servants – I will vindicate them,” says the Lord.
- Daniel 3:17If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.
- Daniel 6:16So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den of lions. The king consoled Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”
- Malachi 3:18Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.
Commentaries on Revelation 7:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Till we have sealed the servants of our God - There is manifestly an allusion to Ezekiel 9:4; here. By sealing we are to understand consecrating the persons in a more especial manner to God, and showing, by this mark of God upon them, that they were under his more immediate protection, and that nothing should hurt them. It was a custom in the east, and indeed in the west too, to stamp with a hot iron the name of the owner upon the forehead or shoulder of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea - Let the winds be restrained until what is here designated shall be done. These destroying angels were commanded to suspend the work of destruction until the servants of God could be rendered secure. The division here, as in Revelation 7:1, of the “earth, the sea, and the trees,” seems to include everything - water, land, and the productions of the earth. Nothing was to be injured until the angel should…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Do not … until: God commands the four angels to hold back the winds for a short time. They must not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees until the servants of God receive his seal on their foreheads. The seal of the living God signifies belonging to God's family; God owns and protects his people (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13–14). In ancient times, sealing or tattooing showed ownership. The angel carrying the seal identified God's people, answering…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Hurt not--by letting loose the destructive winds. till we have sealed the servants of our God--parallel to Mt 24:31, "His angels ... shall gather together His elect from the four winds." God's love is such, that He cannot do anything in the way of judgment, till His people are secured from hurt (Ge 19:22). Israel, at the eve of the Lord's coming, shall be found re-embodied as a nation; for its tribes are distinctly specified (Joseph, however, being…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 7:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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