² He had a little book open in his hand. ^(A)And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(A)raised up his ^[a]hand to heaven

⁹ Now when I looked, there was ^(A)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, ^(B)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

John Eats the Little Book

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”

And he said to me, ^(A)“Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, ^(B)and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, ^(C)my stomach became bitter.

The Lamb Takes the Scroll

5 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne ^(A)a scroll written inside and on the back, ^(B)sealed with seven seals. ² Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ^(C)“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

⁴ So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open ^[a]and read the scroll, or to look at it. ⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, ^(D)the Lion of the tribe of ^(E)Judah, ^(F)the Root of David, has ^(G)prevailed to open the scroll ^(H)and ^[b]to loose its seven seals.”

Second Seal: Conflict on Earth

³ When He opened the second seal, ^(A)I heard the second living creature saying, “Come ^[a]and see.”

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ^(A)“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.