Revelation 1
New King James Version
Introduction and Benediction
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, (A)which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must [a]shortly take place. And (B)He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 (C)who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things (D)that he saw. 3 (E)Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for (F)the time is near.
Greeting the Seven Churches
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him (G)who is and (H)who was and who is to come, (I)and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, (J)the faithful (K)witness, the (L)firstborn from the dead, and (M)the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him (N)who [b]loved us (O)and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has (P)made us [c]kings and priests to His God and Father, (Q)to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with (R)clouds, and every eye will see Him, even (S)they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 (T)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, [d]the Beginning and the End,” says the [e]Lord, (U)“who is and who was and who is to come, the (V)Almighty.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, [f]both your brother and (W)companion in the tribulation and (X)kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 (Y)I was in the Spirit on (Z)the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me (AA)a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, [g]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches [h]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned (AB)I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 (AC)and in the midst of the seven lampstands (AD)One like the Son of Man, (AE)clothed with a garment down to the feet and (AF)girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and (AG)hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and (AH)His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 (AI)His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and (AJ)His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 (AK)He had in His right hand seven stars, (AL)out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, (AM)and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And (AN)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But (AO)He laid His right hand on me, saying [i]to me, “Do not be afraid; (AP)I am the First and the Last. 18 (AQ)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, (AR)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And (AS)I have the keys of [j]Hades and of Death. 19 [k]Write the things which you have (AT)seen, (AU)and the things which are, (AV)and the things which will take place after this. 20 The [l]mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are (AW)the [m]angels of the seven churches, and (AX)the seven lampstands [n]which you saw are the seven churches.
Footnotes
- Revelation 1:1 quickly or swiftly
- Revelation 1:5 NU loves us and freed; M loves us and washed
- Revelation 1:6 NU, M a kingdom
- Revelation 1:8 NU, M omit the Beginning and the End
- Revelation 1:8 NU, M Lord God
- Revelation 1:9 NU, M omit both
- Revelation 1:11 NU, M omit “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and,
- Revelation 1:11 NU, M omit which are in Asia
- Revelation 1:17 NU, M omit to me
- Revelation 1:18 Lit. Unseen; the unseen realm
- Revelation 1:19 NU, M Therefore, write
- Revelation 1:20 hidden truth
- Revelation 1:20 Or messengers
- Revelation 1:20 NU, M omit which you saw
Revelation 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Prologue
1 The revelation of[a] Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves(A) what must quickly[b] take place.(B) He sent it and signified it[c] through His angel(C) to His slave John,(D) 2 who testified to God’s word and to the testimony[d] about Jesus Christ,(E) in all he saw.[e] 3 The one who reads this is blessed,(F) and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep[f] what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!
4 John:
To the seven churches in Asia.
Grace and peace(G) to you from[g] the One who is, who was, and who is coming;(H) from the seven spirits[h](I) before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him who loves us and has set us free[i] from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom,[j] priests[k](J) to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds,(K)
and every eye will see Him,
including those who pierced[l] Him.
And all the families of the earth[m](L)[n]
will mourn over Him.[o](M)[p]
This is certain. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”(N) says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”
John’s Vision of the Risen Lord
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.[q](O) 10 I was in the Spirit[r][s](P) on the Lord’s day,[t] and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll[u] what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 I turned to see whose voice(Q) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man,[v](R) dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow—and His eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading[w] waters.(S) 16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth,(T) and His face was shining like the sun at midday.[x]
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last,(U) 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. 20 The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[y] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands[z] are the seven churches.
Footnotes
- Revelation 1:1 Or Revelation of, or A revelation of
- Revelation 1:1 Or soon
- Revelation 1:1 Made it known through symbols
- Revelation 1:2 Or witness
- Revelation 1:2 Lit as many as he saw
- Revelation 1:3 Or follow, or obey
- Revelation 1:4 Other mss add God
- Revelation 1:4 Or the sevenfold Spirit
- Revelation 1:5 Other mss read has washed us
- Revelation 1:6 Other mss read kings and
- Revelation 1:6 Or made us into (or to be) a kingdom of priests; Ex 19:6
- Revelation 1:7 Or impaled
- Revelation 1:7 Or all the tribes of the land
- Revelation 1:7 Gn 12:3; 28:14; Zch 14:17
- Revelation 1:7 Or will wail because of Him
- Revelation 1:7 Dn 7:13; Zch 12:10
- Revelation 1:9 Lit the witness of Jesus
- Revelation 1:10 Or in spirit; lit I became in the Spirit
- Revelation 1:10 John was brought by God’s Spirit into a realm of spiritual vision.
- Revelation 1:10 Sunday
- Revelation 1:11 Or book
- Revelation 1:13 Or like a son of man
- Revelation 1:15 Lit many
- Revelation 1:16 Lit like the sun shines in its power
- Revelation 1:20 Or messengers
- Revelation 1:20 Other mss add that you saw
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.