| 1:1 | The revelation of Jesus Christ,* which God gave him to show his servants* what must happen very soon.* He made it clear* by sending his angel to his servant* John, |
| 1:2 | who then* testified to everything that he saw concerning the word of God and the testimony about* Jesus Christ. |
| 1:3 | Blessed is the one who reads the words of this* prophecy aloud,* and blessed are* those who hear and obey* the things written in it, because the time is near!* |
| 1:4 | From John,* to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia:* Grace and peace to you* from “he who is,”* and who was, and who is still to come,* and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, |
| 1:5 | and from Jesus Christ – the faithful* witness,* the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free* from our sins at the cost of* his own blood |
| 1:6 | and has appointed* us as a kingdom,* as priests* serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever!* Amen. |
| 1:7 | (Look! He is returning with the clouds,* andevery eye will see him, even* those who pierced him,* and all the tribes* on the earth will mourn because* of him. This will certainly come to pass!* Amen.)* |
| 1:8 | “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”* says the Lord God – the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come – the All-Powerful!* |
| 1:9 | I, John, your brother and the one who shares* with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that* are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.* |
| 1:10 | I was in the Spirit* on the Lord’s Day* when* I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, |
| 1:11 | saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus,* Smyrna,* Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” |
| 1:12 | I* turned to see whose voice was speaking to me,* and when I did so,* I saw seven golden lampstands, |
| 1:13 | and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man.* He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt* around his chest. |
| 1:14 | His* head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow,* and his eyes were like a fiery* flame. |
| 1:15 | His feet were like polished bronze* refined* in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar* of many waters. |
| 1:16 | He held* seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His* face shone like the sun shining at full strength. |
| 1:17 | When* I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but* he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, |
| 1:18 | and the one who lives! I* was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades!* |
| 1:19 | Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things.* |
| 1:20 | The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this:* The seven stars are the angels* of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. |
Wahyu 1 - NET Bible [draft]
