Revelation 2-4

English Standard Version

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ^(A)him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, ^(B)who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

²^(C)“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but ^(D)have tested those ^(E)who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up ^(F)for my name's sake, and you ^(G)have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned ^(H)the love you had at first. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do ^(I)the works you did at first. If not, ^(J)I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of ^(K)the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷^(L)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(M)To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of ^(N)the tree of life, which is in ^(O)the paradise of God.’

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of ^(P)the first and the last, ^(Q)who died and came to life.

⁹“‘I know your tribulation and ^(R)your poverty (^(S)but you are rich) and the slander^[a] of ^(T)those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, ^(U)that you may be tested, and for ^(V)ten days ^(W)you will have tribulation. ^(X)Be faithful ^(Y)unto death, and I will give you ^(Z)the crown of life. ¹¹^(AA)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AB)The one who conquers will not be hurt by ^(AC)the second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^(AD)the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³“‘I know where you dwell, ^(AE)where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^(AF)deny my faith^[b] even in the days of Antipas ^(AG)my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ^(AH)Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^(AI)eat food sacrificed to idols and ^(AJ)practice sexual immorality. ¹⁵So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^(AK)the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Therefore repent. If not, ^(AL)I will come to you soon and ^(AM)war against them with ^(AN)the sword of my mouth. ¹⁷^(AO)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AP)To the one who conquers I will give some of ^(AQ)the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^(AR)a new name written on the stone ^(AS)that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, ^(AT)who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

¹⁹^(AU)“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. ²⁰But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ^(AV)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants ^(AW)to practice sexual immorality and ^(AX)to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹I gave her time to repent, but ^(AY)she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. ²²Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, ²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he ^(AZ)who searches mind and heart, and ^(BA)I will give to each of you according to your works. ²⁴But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ^(BB)the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I ^(BC)do not lay on you any other burden. ²⁵Only hold fast ^(BD)what you have until I come. ²⁶^(BE)The one who conquers and who keeps my works ^(BF)until the end, ^(BG)to him I will give authority over the nations, ²⁷and ^(BH)he will ^(BI)rule^[c] them with a rod of iron, ^(BJ)as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. ²⁸And I will give him ^(BK)the morning star. ²⁹^(BL)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Sardis

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ^(BM)who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^(BN)of being alive, ^(BO)but you are dead. ²Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^(BP)complete in the sight of my God. ³^(BQ)Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ^(BR)I will come ^(BS)like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^(BT)soiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^(BU)in white, for they are ^(BV)worthy. ⁵^(BW)The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^(BX)blot his name out of ^(BY)the book of life. ^(BZ)I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ⁶^(CA)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of ^(CB)the holy one, ^(CC)the true one, ^(CD)who has the key of David, ^(CE)who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

⁸“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you ^(CF)an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹Behold, I will make those of ^(CG)the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, ^(CH)I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that ^(CI)I have loved you. ¹⁰^(CJ)Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try ^(CK)those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹^(CL)I am coming soon. ^(CM)Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize ^(CN)your crown. ¹²^(CO)The one who conquers, I will make him ^(CP)a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him ^(CQ)the name of my God, and ^(CR)the name of the city of my God, ^(CS)the new Jerusalem, ^(CT)which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own ^(CU)new name. ¹³^(CV)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the ^(CW)Amen, ^(CX)the faithful and true witness, ^(CY)the beginning of God's creation.

¹⁵“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. ^(CZ)Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷^(DA)For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ^(DB)blind, and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you ^(DC)to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and ^(DD)white garments so that you may clothe yourself and ^(DE)the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, ^(DF)so that you may see. ¹⁹^(DG)Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and ^(DH)knock. ^(DI)If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, ^(DJ)I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹^(DK)The one who conquers, ^(DL)I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as ^(DM)I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²^(DN)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me ^(DO)like a trumpet, said, ^(DP)“Come up here, and ^(DQ)I will show you what must take place after this.” ²At once ^(DR)I was in the Spirit, and behold, ^(DS)a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³And he who sat there had the appearance of ^(DT)jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was ^(DU)a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴Around the throne were ^(DV)twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, ^(DW)clothed in white garments, with ^(DX)golden crowns on their heads. ⁵From the throne came ^(DY)flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[d] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning ^(DZ)seven torches of fire, ^(EA)which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶and before the throne there was ^(EB)as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^(EC)four living creatures, ^(ED)full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷^(EE)the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸And the four living creatures, ^(EF)each of them with six wings, are ^(EG)full of eyes all around and within, and ^(EH)day and night they never cease to say,

^(EI)“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
^(EJ)who was and is and is to come!”

⁹And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, ^(EK)who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders ^(EL)fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast ^(EM)their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹^(EN)“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for ^(EO)you created all things,
and ^(EP)by your will they existed and were created.”