Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, "Do not cry; look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of King David, has gained the victory, so He can break the seven seals on the book and open it."

And they sang a new song [which went like this]: "You deserve to take the book and break the seals on it, for you were killed and, with your blood, you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and race and nation,

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed. [It was] one hundred forty-four thousand [in all] from every tribe of the Israelites [Note: This could refer to Christians of Jewish descent].

There were twelve thousand sealed from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from Reuben, twelve thousand from Gad,

After seeing [all] these things, I looked and there [I saw] a huge crowd, which no one could count, from every nation, and tribe, and race, and language group standing in front of the throne [of God] and in front of the Lamb. They were dressed in white robes and had palm tree branches in their hands.

And he was given [the power] to wage war against the saints [i.e., God's holy people] and to conquer them; and he was given authority over every tribe, race, language group and nation.

Then I saw another angel flying in mid heaven. He had eternal good news to proclaim to those who lived on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language group and race.