Revelation 1
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
4 John 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, 5 and 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 6 and 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. 7 Behold, (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
9 I, 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 11 saying, (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.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw (AJ)seven golden lampstands, 13 and 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, 18 and 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. 20 As 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.
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
Revelation 1
New Living Translation
Prologue
1 This is a revelation from[a] Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon[b] take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, 2 who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3 God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.
John’s Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia.[c]
Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit[d] before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world.
All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. 6 He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
And everyone will see him—
even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,”[e] says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit.[f] Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, “Write in a book[g] everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man.[h] He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.[i]
19 “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.[j] 20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels[k] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Footnotes
- 1:1a Or of.
- 1:1b Or suddenly, or quickly.
- 1:4a Asia was a Roman province in what is now western Turkey.
- 1:4b Greek the seven spirits.
- 1:8 Greek I am the Alpha and the Omega, referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.
- 1:10 Or in spirit.
- 1:11 Or on a scroll.
- 1:13 Or like a son of man. See Dan 7:13. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 1:18 Greek and Hades.
- 1:19 Or what you have seen and what they mean—the things that have already begun to happen.
- 1:20 Or the messengers.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
