The Passover Instituted^(A)

12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ^2 (B)“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. ³ Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the ^(C)tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be ^(D)without^[a] blemish, a male ^[b]of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ Now you shall keep it until the ^(E)fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ⁷ And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ⁸ Then they shall eat the flesh on that ^(F)night; ^(G)roasted in fire, with ^(H)unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but ^(I)roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. ^10 (J)You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. ¹¹ And thus you shall eat it: ^[c]with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. ^(K)It is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² ‘For I ^(L)will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and ^(M)against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: ^(N)I am the Lord. ¹³ Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ ‘So this day shall be to you ^(O)a memorial; and you shall keep it as a ^(P)feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast ^(Q)by an everlasting ordinance.

Greeting the Seven Churches

⁴ John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him ^(A)who is and ^(B)who was and who is to come, ^(C)and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(D)the faithful ^(E)witness, the ^(F)firstborn from the dead, and ^(G)the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him ^(H)who ^[a]loved us ^(I)and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has ^(J)made us ^[b]kings and priests to His God and Father, ^(K)to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Behold, He is coming with ^(L)clouds, and every eye will see Him, even ^(M)they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

^8 (N)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^[c]the Beginning and the End,” says the ^[d]Lord, ^(O)“who is and who was and who is to come, the ^(P)Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, ^[e]both your brother and ^(Q)companion in the tribulation and ^(R)kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. ^10 (S)I was in the Spirit on ^(T)the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me ^(U)a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, ^[f]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches ^[g]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned ^(V)I saw seven golden lampstands, ^13 (W)and in the midst of the seven lampstands ^(X)One like the Son of Man, ^(Y)clothed with a garment down to the feet and ^(Z)girded about the chest with a golden band. ¹⁴ His head and ^(AA)hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and ^(AB)His eyes like a flame of fire; ^15 (AC)His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and ^(AD)His voice as the sound of many waters; ^16 (AE)He had in His right hand seven stars, ^(AF)out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, ^(AG)and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ¹⁷ And ^(AH)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But ^(AI)He laid His right hand on me, saying ^[h]to me, “Do not be afraid; ^(AJ)I am the First and the Last. ^18 (AK)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, ^(AL)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And ^(AM)I have the keys of ^[i]Hades and of Death.