John, to the seven churches that are in [the province of] Asia: Grace [be granted] to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being], from Him Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before His throne,

[It is also] from Jesus Christ, who is the Faithful Witness [to the truth], the Firstborn from the dead [i.e., the first One raised never to die again], the Ruler of the kings of the world. May there be honor and power forever and ever to Christ, who loved us and released us from our sins by His blood [Note: Some manuscripts say "washed us" since the two words are spelled almost alike].

And He made us to be a kingdom [See 5:10] and priests [See I Pet. 2:5, 9] for [serving] His God and Father. May it be so.

Look, He [i.e., Jesus] is coming with [i.e., "on"] the clouds! And [then] every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him, and all the peoples of the earth will grieve because of Him [i.e., because of how they had treated Him]. So it will be. May it be so.

I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, Saying, what thou seest, write in a book and send to the seven churches, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me].

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

He who is having an ear -- let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies: He who is overcoming may not be injured of the second death.

I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Let the one having ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches; unto the one conquering will I give to him of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone my new name having been written, which no one knows but the one receiving it.

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

lo, I will cast her into a couch, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation -- if they may not repent of their works,

But for the rest of you at Thyatira, for all who do not hold these tenets, for those who have not (in their phrase) 'fathomed the deep mysteries of Satan' ??for you this is my word: I impose no fresh burden on you;

but that which ye have -- hold ye, till I may come;

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

as I also have received from my Father, and I will give him the morning star.

Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of thine perfected before my God.

Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia say: These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, opening the door so that it may be shut by no one, and shutting it so that it may be open to no one.

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

lo, I make of the synagogue of the Adversary those saying themselves to be Jews, and are not, but do lie; lo, I will make them that they may come and bow before thy feet, and may know that I loved thee.

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Lo, I come quickly, be holding fast that which thou hast, that no one may receive thy crown.

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

To all those who are dear to me, I give sharp words and punishment: then with all your heart have sorrow for your evil ways.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Immediately, I was in [i.e., under the influence of] the Holy Spirit [See 1:10], and there before me was situated a throne in heaven, with Someone sitting on it [Note: From the following description, this appears to have been God].

And to my eyes he was like a jasper and a sardius stone: and there was an arch of light round the high seat, like an emerald.

And no one in heaven, or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look inside of it. [Note: "Under the earth" may refer to the spirit world].

And I wept much, that none was found worthy to open the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith to me, Weep not;

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And I saw, and there came to my ears the sound of a great number of angels round about the high seat and the beasts and the rulers; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

And to my ears came the voice of everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and of all things which are in them, saying, To him who is seated on the high seat, and to the Lamb, may blessing and honour and glory and power be given for ever and ever.

And the four living beings said, "May it be so." And the elders fell down and worshiped.

And I saw when the Lamb undid one of the stamps, and the voice of one of the four beasts came to my ears, saying as with a voice of thunder, Come and see.

and I saw, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is having a bow, and there was given to him a crown, and he went forth overcoming, and that he may overcome.

And when the second stamp was undone, the voice of the second beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see.

and there went forth another horse -- red, and to him who is sitting upon it, there was given to him to take the peace from the land, and that one another they may slay, and there was given to him a great sword.

And when the third stamp was undone, the voice of the third beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see. And I saw a black horse; and he who was seated on it had scales in his hand.

And a voice came to my ears, from the middle of the four beasts, saying, A measure of grain for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny: and see that you do no damage to the oil and the wine.

And when the fourth stamp was undone, the voice of the fourth beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see.

So, I looked and before me [stood] a pale green horse, and the name of the man riding on it was "Death," and the unseen place of departed spirits followed along behind him. And they were [both] given authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill people with swords, with famine, with terrible judgments and by wild animals of the earth.

and there was given to each one white robes, and it was said to them that they may rest themselves yet a little time, till may be fulfilled also their fellow-servants and their brethren, who are about to be killed -- even as they.

For the great day of their wrath is come, and who may keep his place?

And after these things I saw four messengers, standing upon the four corners of the land, holding the four winds of the land, that the wind may not blow upon the land, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree;

'Do not injure the land, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we may seal the servants of our God upon their foreheads.'

And there came to my ears the number of those who had the mark on their brows, a hundred and forty-four thousand, who were marked out of every tribe of the people of Israel.

After this, in my vision, I saw a vast throng which no man could number, of men from every nation and of all tribes, and peoples, and languages. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, robed in white, holding palm branches in their hands.

saying [See Note at 4:8], "May it be so; May there be praise and splendor and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. May it be so."

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Then he told me, "These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. That is why: "They are in front of the throne of God and worship him night and day in his Temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

they shall not hunger any more, nor may the sun fall upon them, nor any heat,

and another messenger did come, and he stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given to him much perfume, that he may give it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar that is before the throne,

And the seven messengers who are having the seven trumpets did prepare themselves that they may sound;

And the fourth messenger did sound, and smitten was the third of the sun, and the third of the moon, and the third of the stars, that darkened may be the third of them, and that the day may not shine -- the third of it, and the night in like manner.

And there came to my ears the cry of an eagle in flight in the middle of heaven, saying with a great voice, Trouble, trouble, trouble, to all on the earth, because of the other voices of the horns of the three angels, whose sounding is still to come.

and it was said to them that they may not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but -- the men only who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads,

and it was given to them that they may not kill them, but that they may be tormented five months, and their torment is as the torment of a scorpion, when it may strike a man;

And at the sounding of the sixth angel a voice came to my ears from the horns of the gold altar which is before God,

and loosed were the four messengers, who have been made ready for the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they may kill the third of men;

And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: the number of them came to my ears.

And this is how I saw the horses and their riders in my vision: the riders had breastplates [the color] of fire and of hyacinth (sapphire blue) and of brimstone (yellow); and the heads of the horses looked like the heads of lions; and from out of their mouths came fire and smoke and brimstone (burning sulfur).

and the rest of men, who were not killed in these plagues, neither did reform from the works of their hands, that they may not bow before the demons, and idols, those of gold, and those of silver, and those of brass, and those of stone, and those of wood, that are neither able to see, nor to hear, nor to walk,

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

but in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he may be about to sound, and the secret of God may be finished, as He did declare to His own servants, to the prophets.

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

and if any one may will to injure them, fire doth proceed out of their mouth, and doth devour their enemies, and if any one may will to injure them, thus it behoveth him to be killed.

These have power to shut the heaven that no rain may fall during the days of their prophecy; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth as often as they will with every plague.

'And when they may finish their testimony, the beast that is coming up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them,

And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

And a great voice in heaven came to my ears, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: because he who says evil against our brothers before our God day and night is forced down.

and there were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle, that she may fly to the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent;

and the serpent did cast forth after the woman, out of his mouth, water as a river, that he may cause her to be carried away by the river,

One of its heads seemed to me to have been mortally wounded, but its deadly wound had been healed. The whole earth followed the Beast, wondering;

and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men,

He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.

and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and that it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed.

And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads,