²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, ^(A)the Lamb of God who ^(B)takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘^(C)After me is coming a Man who has proved to be ^[a]my superior, ^(D)because He existed before me.’ ³¹ And I did not recognize ^[b]Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing ^[c]in water.” ³² And John ^(E)testified, saying, “^(F)I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ And I did not recognize ^[d]Him, but He who sent me to baptize ^[e]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, ^(G)this is the One who baptizes ^[f]in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is ^(H)the ^[g]Son of God.”

Jesus’ Public Ministry; First Converts

³⁵ Again ^(I)the next day John was standing ^[h]with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, ^(J)the Lamb of God!”

⁷ Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our ^(A)Passover also has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, ^(B)not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

¹⁸ knowing that you were not ^[a](A)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your ^(B)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious ^(C)blood, as of a ^(D)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

⁶ And I saw ^[a]between the throne (with the four living creatures) and ^(A)the elders a ^(B)Lamb standing, as if ^(C)slaughtered, having seven ^(D)horns and ^(E)seven eyes, which are ^[b](F)the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And He came and took ^(G)the scroll out of the right hand of Him who ^(H)sat on the throne. ⁸ When He had taken the scroll, the ^(I)four living creatures and the ^(J)twenty-four elders ^(K)fell down before the ^(L)Lamb, each one holding a ^(M)harp and ^(N)golden bowls full of incense, which are the ^(O)prayers of the ^[c]saints. ⁹ And they *sang a ^(P)new song, saying,

Angels Exalt the Lamb

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels ^(X)around the throne and the ^(Y)living creatures and the ^(Z)elders; and the number of them was ^[d](AA)myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

¹³ And I heard ^(AE)every created thing which is in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, or on the sea, and all the things in them, saying,

¹⁴ I ^[a]said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the ^(A)great tribulation, and they have ^(B)washed their robes and made them ^(C)white in the ^(D)blood of the Lamb.

²² I saw ^(A)no ^[a]temple in it, for the ^(B)Lord God the Almighty and the ^(C)Lamb are its ^[b]temple. ²³ And the city ^(D)has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for ^(E)the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the ^(F)Lamb. ^24 (G)The nations will walk by its light, and the ^(H)kings of the earth ^[c]will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ In the daytime (for ^(I)there will be no night there) ^(J)its gates ^(K)will never be closed; ²⁶ and ^(L)they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; ²⁷ and ^(M)nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those ^[d]whose names are ^(N)written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The River and the Tree of Life

22 And ^(A)he showed me a ^(B)river of the ^(C)water of life, ^[a]clear ^(D)as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of ^[b]the Lamb, ² in the middle of ^(E)its street. ^(F)On either side of the river was ^(G)the tree of life, bearing twelve ^[c]kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ^3 (H)There will no longer be any curse; and ^(I)the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will ^(J)serve Him; ⁴ they will ^(K)see His face, and His ^(L)name will be on their ^(M)foreheads.