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Greeting the Seven Churches
4John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him (A)who is and (B)who was and who is to come, (C)and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, (D)the faithful (E)witness, the (F)firstborn from the dead, and (G)the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him (H)who [a]loved us (I)and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has (J)made us [b]kings and priests to His God and Father, (K)to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7Behold, He is coming with (L)clouds, and every eye will see Him, even (M)they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8(N)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, [c]the Beginning and the End,” says the [d]Lord, (O)“who is and who was and who is to come, the (P)Almighty.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9I, John, [e]both your brother and (Q)companion in the tribulation and (R)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(S)I was in the Spirit on (T)the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me (U)a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11saying, [f]“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 [g]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
12Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned (V)I saw seven golden lampstands, 13(W)and in the midst of the seven lampstands (X)One like the Son of Man, (Y)clothed with a garment down to the feet and (Z)girded about the chest with a golden band. 14His head and (AA)hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and (AB)His eyes like a flame of fire; 15(AC)His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and (AD)His voice as the sound of many waters; 16(AE)He had in His right hand seven stars, (AF)out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, (AG)and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17And (AH)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But (AI)He laid His right hand on me, saying [h]to me, “Do not be afraid; (AJ)I am the First and the Last. 18(AK)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, (AL)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And (AM)I have the keys of [i]Hades and of Death.
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Footnotes
- 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
Cross references
- Revelation 1:4 : Ex. 3:14
- Revelation 1:4 : John 1:1
- Revelation 1:4 : [Is. 11:2]; Zech. 3:9; Rev. 3:1; 4:5; 5:6
- Revelation 1:5 : John 8:14; Prov. 14:5
- Revelation 1:5 : Is. 55:4
- Revelation 1:5 : Ps. 89:27; 1 Cor. 15:20; [Col. 1:18]
- Revelation 1:5 : Rev. 17:14
- Revelation 1:5 : John 13:34
- Revelation 1:5 : Heb. 9:14
- Revelation 1:6 : 1 Pet. 2:5, 9
- Revelation 1:6 : 1 Tim. 6:16
- Revelation 1:7 : Matt. 24:30
- Revelation 1:7 : Zech. 12:10–14; John 19:37
- Revelation 1:8 : Is. 41:4; Rev. 21:6; 22:13
- Revelation 1:8 : Rev. 4:8; 11:17
- Revelation 1:8 : Is. 9:6
- Revelation 1:9 : Phil. 1:7
- Revelation 1:9 : [Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12]
- Revelation 1:10 : Acts 10:10
- Revelation 1:10 : Acts 20:7
- Revelation 1:10 : Rev. 4:1
- Revelation 1:12 : Ex. 25:37; Zech. 4:2; Rev. 1:20; 2:1
- Revelation 1:13 : Rev. 2:1
- Revelation 1:13 : Ezek. 1:26; Dan. 7:13; 10:16; Rev. 14:14
- Revelation 1:13 : Dan. 10:5
- Revelation 1:13 : Rev. 15:6
- Revelation 1:14 : Dan. 7:9
- Revelation 1:14 : Dan. 10:6; Rev. 2:18; 19:12
- Revelation 1:15 : Ezek. 1:7; Dan. 10:6; Rev. 2:18
- Revelation 1:15 : Ezek. 1:24; 43:2; Rev. 14:2; 19:6
- Revelation 1:16 : Rev. 1:20; 2:1; 3:1
- Revelation 1:16 : Is. 49:2; [Heb. 4:12]; Rev. 2:12, 16; 19:15
- Revelation 1:16 : Matt. 17:2; Acts 26:13; Rev. 10:1
- Revelation 1:17 : Ezek. 1:28
- Revelation 1:17 : Dan. 8:18; 10:10, 12
- Revelation 1:17 : Is. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Rev. 2:8; 22:13
- Revelation 1:18 : Rom. 6:9; Rev. 2:8; 10:6; 15:7
- Revelation 1:18 : Rev. 4:9
- Revelation 1:18 : Ps. 68:20
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