Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:^(A) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,^(B) who lays the foundation of the earth,^(C) and who forms the human spirit within a person,^(D) declares: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup^(E) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.^(F) Judah^(G) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations^(H) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock^(I) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure^(J) themselves. ⁴ On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.^{(K) 5} Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,^(L) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot^(M) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume^(N) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact^(O) in her place.

⁷ “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.^{(P) 8} On that day the Lord will shield^(Q) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest^(R) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,^(S) like the angel of the Lord going before^(T) them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations^(U) that attack Jerusalem.^(V)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^[a](W) of grace and supplication.^(X) They will look on^[b] me, the one they have pierced,^(Y) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,^(Z) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.^{(AA) 11} On that day the weeping^(AB) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^{(AC) 12} The land will mourn,^(AD) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives.^(AE)

Prologue

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave^(A) him to show his servants what must soon take place.^(B) He made it known by sending his angel^(C) to his servant John,^{(D) 2} who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God^(E) and the testimony of Jesus Christ.^{(F) 3} Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,^(G) because the time is near.^(H)

Greetings and Doxology

⁴ John,

To the seven churches^(I) in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you^(J) from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,^(K) and from the seven spirits^[a](L) before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,^(M) the firstborn from the dead,^(N) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.^(O)

To him who loves us^(P) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,^{(Q) 6} and has made us to be a kingdom and priests^(R) to serve his God and Father^(S)—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.^(T)

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”^(X) says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,^(Y) the Almighty.”^(Z)

John’s Vision of Christ

⁹ I, John,^(AA) your brother and companion in the suffering^(AB) and kingdom^(AC) and patient endurance^(AD) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God^(AE) and the testimony of Jesus.^{(AF) 10} On the Lord’s Day^(AG) I was in the Spirit,^(AH) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,^{(AI) 11} which said: “Write on a scroll what you see^(AJ) and send it to the seven churches:^(AK) to Ephesus,^(AL) Smyrna,^(AM) Pergamum,^(AN) Thyatira,^(AO) Sardis,^(AP) Philadelphia^(AQ) and Laodicea.”^(AR)

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^{(AS) 13} and among the lampstands^(AT) was someone like a son of man,^[d](AU) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet^(AV) and with a golden sash around his chest.^{(AW) 14} The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.^{(AX) 15} His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,^(AY) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.^{(AZ) 16} In his right hand he held seven stars,^(BA) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.^(BB) His face was like the sun^(BC) shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet^(BD) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me^(BE) and said: “Do not be afraid.^(BF) I am the First and the Last.^{(BG) 18} I am the Living One; I was dead,^(BH) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!^(BI) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.^(BJ)

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen,^(BK) what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand^(BL) and of the seven golden lampstands^(BM) is this: The seven stars are the angels^[e] of the seven churches,^(BN) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.^(BO)