Revelation 4:1-5:4

English Standard Version

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 ^(A)like a trumpet, said, ^(B)“Come up here, and ^(C)I will show you what must take place after this.” ²At once ^(D)I was in the Spirit, and behold, ^(E)a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. ³And he who sat there had the appearance of ^(F)jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was ^(G)a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴Around the throne were ^(H)twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, ^(I)clothed in white garments, with ^(J)golden crowns on their heads. ⁵From the throne came ^(K)flashes of lightning, and rumblings^[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning ^(L)seven torches of fire, ^(M)which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶and before the throne there was ^(N)as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^(O)four living creatures, ^(P)full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷^(Q)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, ^(R)each of them with six wings, are ^(S)full of eyes all around and within, and ^(T)day and night they never cease to say,

^(U)“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
^(V)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, ^(W)who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders ^(X)fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast ^(Y)their crowns before the throne, saying,

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

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ^(AC)a scroll written within and on the back, ^(AD)sealed with seven seals. ²And ^(AE)I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.