1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^agave him ^bto show to his servants¹ the things that must soon take place. ^cHe made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 ^dwho bore witness to the word of God and to ^ethe testimony of Jesus Christ, even ^fto all that he saw. 3 ^gBlessed 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, ^hfor the time is near.

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ⁱhim ^jwho is and ^kwho was and who is to come, and from ^lthe seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ ^mthe faithful witness, ⁿthe firstborn of the dead, and ^othe ruler of kings on earth.

To ^phim who loves us and ^qhas freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us ^ra kingdom, ^rpriests to ^shis God and Father, to him be ^tglory and ^udominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, ^vhe is coming with the clouds, and ^wevery eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail² on account of him. Even so. Amen.

8 ^x“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ^y“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

9 I, John, your brother and ^zpartner in ^athe tribulation and ^bthe kingdom and ^cthe patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^don account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 ^eI was in the Spirit ^fon the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^glike a trumpet 11 saying, ^h“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.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ⁱseven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands ^jone like ^ka son of man, ^lclothed with a long robe and ^mwith a golden sash around his chest. 14 ⁿThe hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^oHis eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 ^phis feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^qhis voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 ^rIn his right hand he held seven stars, ^sfrom his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^this face was like the sun shining ^uin full strength.

17 ^vWhen I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^vhe laid his right hand on me, ^wsaying, “Fear not, ^xI am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. ^yI died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^zI have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 ^aWrite therefore ^bthe things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^cthe seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^dthe seven lampstands are the seven churches.

1 For since the law has but ^va shadow ^wof the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, ^xit can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But ^yin these sacrifices ^zthere is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For ^ait is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, ^bwhen Christ¹ came into the world, he said,

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in ^csacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, ^d“Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will ^ewe have been sanctified through the offering of ^fthe body of Jesus Christ ^gonce for all.

11 And every priest stands ^hdaily at his service, ⁱoffering repeatedly the same sacrifices, ^jwhich can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ² had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he ^ksat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time ^luntil his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering ^mhe has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

17 then he adds,

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

19 ^pTherefore, brothers,³ since we have confidence to enter ^qthe holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by ^rthe new and living way that he opened for us through ^sthe curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have ^ta great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts ^usprinkled clean ^vfrom an evil conscience and our bodies ^wwashed with pure water. 23 ^xLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^yhe who promised is faithful. 24 And ^zlet us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 ^anot neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ^ball the more as you see ^cthe Day drawing near.

26 For ^dif we go on sinning deliberately ^eafter receiving the knowledge of the truth, ^fthere no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 ^gbut a fearful expectation of judgment, and ^ha fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 ⁱAnyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy ^jon the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one ^kwho has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned ^lthe blood of the covenant ^mby which he was sanctified, and has ⁿoutraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, ^o“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, ^p“The Lord will judge his people.” 31 ^qIt is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But recall the former days when, after ^ryou were enlightened, you endured ^sa hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being ^tpublicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For ^uyou had compassion on those in prison, and ^vyou joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had ^wa better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has ^xa great reward. 36 For ^yyou have need of endurance, so that ^zwhen you have done the will of God you may ^areceive what is promised. 37 For,

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.