After this I looked, and behold: a new vision (see 4.1).

A great multitude which no man could number: this can be expressed by “a crowd too large to be counted” or “a crowd so large that no one could count all the people.”

From every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues: all four words (in different order) are used in 5.9. For emphasis the writer uses all of them, to indicate the whole human race.

Standing before the throne and before the Lamb: the language used makes it appear that the crowd stood facing the throne, not in a circle around it. For the translation of throne see 1.4b and elsewhere. For the translation of Lamb see 5.6.

White robes: see 3.4-5; 6.11.

Palm branches: this indicates joy and celebration (see John 12.13; also 1 Maccabees 13.51; 2 Maccabees 10.7). If palms are unknown in a given language group, it may be necessary to say “branches” or “branches of trees,” and it may be useful, in some instances, to add the explanation “to show their happiness.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• After this I looked and saw there a crowd of people so large that no one could count them all. They came from every tribe in the world, and stood in front of the throne and the Lamb. They wore white robes, and each person was holding a palm branch in his hand.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .