Revelation 1:1-2:7

English Standard Version

Prologue

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^(A)gave him ^(B)to show to his servants^[a] the things that must soon take place. ^(C)He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ²^(D)who bore witness to the word of God and to ^(E)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even ^(F)to all that he saw. ³^(G)Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, ^(H)for the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

⁴John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ^(I)him ^(J)who is and ^(K)who was and who is to come, and from ^(L)the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ ^(M)the faithful witness, ^(N)the firstborn of the dead, and ^(O)the ruler of kings on earth.

To ^(P)him who loves us and ^(Q)has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶and made us ^(R)a kingdom, ^(S)priests to ^(T)his God and Father, to him be ^(U)glory and ^(V)dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷Behold, ^(W)he is coming with the clouds, and ^(X)every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail^[b] on account of him. Even so. Amen.

⁸^(Y)“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ^(Z)“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹I, John, your brother and ^(AA)partner in ^(AB)the tribulation and ^(AC)the kingdom and ^(AD)the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AE)on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰^(AF)I was in the Spirit ^(AG)on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AH)like a trumpet ¹¹saying, ^(AI)“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ^(AJ)seven golden lampstands, ¹³and in the midst of the lampstands ^(AK)one like ^(AL)a son of man, ^(AM)clothed with a long robe and ^(AN)with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴^(AO)The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^(AP)His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵^(AQ)his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^(AR)his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶^(AS)In his right hand he held seven stars, ^(AT)from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^(AU)his face was like the sun shining ^(AV)in full strength.

¹⁷^(AW)When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^(AX)he laid his right hand on me, ^(AY)saying, “Fear not, ^(AZ)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸and the living one. ^(BA)I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^(BB)I have the keys of Death and Hades. ¹⁹^(BC)Write therefore ^(BD)the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^(BE)the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^(BF)the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

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

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

Footnotes

Revelation 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for servant later in this verse
Revelation 1:7 Or mourn

Proverbs 24:17-34

English Standard Version

¹⁷^(A)Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
¹⁸lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.

¹⁹^(B)Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not ^(C)envious of the wicked,
²⁰for the evil man has no ^(D)future;
^(E)the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, ^(F)fear the Lord and the king,
and do not join with those who do otherwise,
²²for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

More Sayings of the Wise

²³These also are sayings of ^(G)the wise.

^(H)Partiality in judging is not good.
²⁴Whoever ^(I)says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”
    ^(J)will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
²⁵but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
    and a good blessing will come upon them.
²⁶Whoever gives an honest answer
    kisses the lips.

²⁷^(K)Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.

²⁸^(L)Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
²⁹Do not say, ^(M)“I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

³⁰^(N)I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man ^(O)lacking sense,
³¹and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone ^(P)wall was broken down.
³²Then I saw and ^(Q)considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
³³^(R)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
³⁴and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.