The Passover Lamb

12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of ^[a]Egypt, ² “^(A)This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. ³ Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a ^[b]lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a ^[c]lamb for ^[d]each household. ⁴ Now if the household is too small for a ^[e]lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the ^[f]number of persons in them; in proportion to ^[g]what each one should eat, you are to ^[h]divide the lamb. ⁵ Your ^[i]lamb shall be ^(B)an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ^6 [j]You shall keep it until the ^(C)fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it ^[k](D)at twilight. ^7 (E)Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel ^[l]of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh ^(F)that same night, ^(G)roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with ^(H)unleavened bread ^[m](I)and bitter herbs. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather ^(J)roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with ^(K)its entrails. ^10 (L)And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall completely burn with fire. ¹¹ Now you shall eat it in this way: with your garment ^[n]belted around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in a hurry—it is ^(M)the Lord’s Passover. ¹² For ^(N)I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and ^(O)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—^(P)I am the Lord. ^13 (Q)The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you ^[o]live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you ^[p]to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

¹⁴ ‘Now ^(R)this day shall be ^(S)a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as ^[q](T)a permanent ordinance.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (A)John to ^(B)the seven churches that are in ^(C)Asia: ^(D)Grace to you and peace from ^(E)Him who is, and who was, and who ^[a]is to come, and from ^(F)the ^[b]seven spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(G)the faithful witness, the ^(H)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(I)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(J)loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— ⁶ and He made us into a ^(K)kingdom, ^(L)priests to ^[c](M)His God and Father—^(N)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^7 (O)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^(P)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(Q)mourn over Him. ^[d]So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am ^(R)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the ^(S)Lord God, “^(T)who is and who was and who ^[e]is to come, the Almighty.”

The Patmos Vision

^9 (U)I, John, your ^(V)brother and ^(W)fellow participant in the tribulation and ^(X)kingdom and ^[f](Y)perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(Z)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was ^(AA)in the ^[g]Spirit on ^(AB)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AC)like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “^(AD)Write ^[h]on a scroll what you see, and send it to the ^(AE)seven churches: to ^(AF)Ephesus, ^(AG)Smyrna, ^(AH)Pergamum, ^(AI)Thyatira, ^(AJ)Sardis, ^(AK)Philadelphia, and ^(AL)Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw ^(AM)seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and ^(AN)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(AO)like ^[i]a son of man, ^(AP)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(AQ)wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His ^(AR)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(AS)His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His ^(AT)feet were like ^[j]burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His ^(AU)voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(AV)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(AW)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(AX)face was like ^(AY)the sun ^[k]shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(AZ)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(BA)placed His right hand on me, saying, “^(BB)Do not be afraid; ^(BC)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the ^(BD)living One; and I ^[l](BE)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(BF)the keys of death and of Hades.