Revelation 1

New International Version

Prologue

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

Greetings and Doxology

⁴John,

To the seven churches^(I) in the province of Asia:

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

To him who loves us^(P) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,^(Q) ⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests^(R) to serve his God and Father^(S)—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.^(T)

⁷“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”^[b]^(U)
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;^(V)
and all peoples on earth “will mourn^(W) because of him.”^[c]
So shall it be! Amen.

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

John’s Vision of Christ

⁹I, John,^(AA) your brother and companion in the suffering^(AB) and kingdom^(AC) and patient endurance^(AD) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God^(AE) and the testimony of Jesus.^(AF) ¹⁰On the Lord’s Day^(AG) I was in the Spirit,^(AH) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,^(AI) ¹¹which said: “Write on a scroll what you see^(AJ) and send it to the seven churches:^(AK) to Ephesus,^(AL) Smyrna,^(AM) Pergamum,^(AN) Thyatira,^(AO) Sardis,^(AP) Philadelphia^(AQ) and Laodicea.”^(AR)

¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,^(AS) ¹³and among the lampstands^(AT) was someone like a son of man,^[d]^(AU) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet^(AV) and with a golden sash around his chest.^(AW) ¹⁴The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.^(AX) ¹⁵His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,^(AY) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.^(AZ) ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars,^(BA) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.^(BB) His face was like the sun^(BC) shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet^(BD) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me^(BE) and said: “Do not be afraid.^(BF) I am the First and the Last.^(BG) ¹⁸I am the Living One; I was dead,^(BH) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!^(BI) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.^(BJ)

¹⁹“Write, therefore, what you have seen,^(BK) what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand^(BL) and of the seven golden lampstands^(BM) is this: The seven stars are the angels^[e] of the seven churches,^(BN) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.^(BO)

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Footnotes

Revelation 1:4 That is, the sevenfold Spirit
Revelation 1:7 Daniel 7:13
Revelation 1:7 Zech. 12:10
Revelation 1:13 See Daniel 7:13.
Revelation 1:20 Or messengers

Hosea 3-4

New International Version

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.^(A) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.^(B)”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels^[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek^[b] of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

⁴For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,^(C) without sacrifice^(D) or sacred stones,^(E) without ephod^(F) or household gods.^(G) ⁵Afterward the Israelites will return and seek^(H) the Lord their God and David their king.^(I) They will come trembling^(J) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.^(K)

The Charge Against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
    because the Lord has a charge^(L) to bring
    against you who live in the land:^(M)
“There is no faithfulness,^(N) no love,
    no acknowledgment^(O) of God in the land.^(P)
²There is only cursing,^[c] lying^(Q) and murder,^(R)
    stealing^(S) and adultery;^(T)
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.^(U)
³Because of this the land dries up,^(V)
    and all who live in it waste away;^(W)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.^(X)

⁴“But let no one bring a charge,
    let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
    who bring charges against a priest.^(Y)
⁵You stumble^(Z) day and night,
    and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother^(AA)—
⁶    my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^(AB)

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law^(AC) of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.
⁷The more priests there were,
    the more they sinned against me;
    they exchanged their glorious God^[d]^(AD) for something disgraceful.^(AE)
⁸They feed on the sins of my people
    and relish their wickedness.^(AF)
⁹And it will be: Like people, like priests.^(AG)
    I will punish both of them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.^(AH)

¹⁰“They will eat but not have enough;^(AI)
    they will engage in prostitution^(AJ) but not flourish,
because they have deserted^(AK) the Lord
    to give themselves ¹¹to prostitution;^(AL)
old wine^(AM) and new wine
    take away their understanding.^(AN)
¹²My people consult a wooden idol,^(AO)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.^(AP)
A spirit of prostitution^(AQ) leads them astray;^(AR)
    they are unfaithful^(AS) to their God.
¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,^(AT) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.^(AU)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^(AV)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^(AW)

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters
    when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots^(AX)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes^(AY)—
    a people without understanding^(AZ) will come to ruin!^(BA)

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^(BB)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.^[e]^(BC)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’^(BD)
¹⁶The Israelites are stubborn,^(BE)
    like a stubborn heifer.^(BF)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs^(BG) in a meadow?
¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone!
¹⁸Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
¹⁹A whirlwind^(BH) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^(BI)

Footnotes

Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).