| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, | 1The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, |
| 2who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. | 2who testified to God's word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw. |
| 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. | 3The one who reads this is blessed, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near! |
| 4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, | 4John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; |
| 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood | 5and 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 from our sins by His blood, |
| 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. | 6and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. |
| 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. | 7Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen." |
| 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” | 8I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty." |
| 9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. | 9I, 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. |
| 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet | 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet |
| 11saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” | 11saying, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea." |
| 12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, | 12I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, |
| 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. | 13and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. |
| 14The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, | 14His head and hair were white like wool--white as snow--and His eyes like a fiery flame. |
| 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. | 15His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading waters. |
| 16In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. | 16He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at midday. |
| 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, | 17When 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, |
| 18and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. | 18and the Living One. I was dead, but look--I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. |
| 19Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. | 19Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. |
| 20As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. | 20The 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 of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. |
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