The Revelation to John

1 Jesus Christ’s revelation which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, and which he sent by his angel and indicated to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, all that he saw. 3 Happy are he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

4 John to the seven churches in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from him who Is and Was and Is Coming, and from the Seven Spirits that are before his throne, 5* and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and liberated us from our sins with his blood, 6 and made us into a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, belong glory and might forever and ever; amen! 7 Lo, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him. Yes; amen

8 I am the A and the Z, says the Lord God; the one who Is and Was and Is Coming; the Almighty.

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, ‘Says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds and your labor and endurance; and that you cannot bear bad men, and you tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them liars; 3 and you have endurance, and have borne things on account of my name and are not tired. 4 But I have against you your having left off your first love; 5 so remember what you have fallen from, and repent and do the deeds that you did at first; else you shall find me coming, and I will move your lampstand out of its place if you do not repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I too hate. 7 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches. To the victor I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life that is in God’s paradise.’

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘Says the First and the Last, he who was dead and came to life: 9 I know your distress and your poverty (but you are rich) and your vilification on the part of those who profess to be Jews and are not but are a congregation of Satan. 10* Do not be afraid of what you are to suffer: lo, the devil is to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and you shall have ten days’ distress. Be faithful even to death, and I will give you the wreath of life. 11 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches. The victor shall not be hurt by the second death.’

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, ‘Says he who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is; and you hold on to my name, and did not deny my faith even in the days of my witness Antipas, my faithful one, who was killed in your town, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there people who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to lay a snare to trip up the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to have immoral relations between the sexes. 15 Just so you too have men who similarly hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16* So repent; else you shall quickly find me coming, and I will make war on them with my mouth-sword. 17 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches. To the victor I will give a portion of the hidden manna; and I will give him a white stone, and inscribed on the stone a new name which no one but the receiver knows.’

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘Says the Son of God, he who has eyes like flame and feet like green gold: 19 I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and endurance, and that your last deeds are more than your first. 20 But I have against you your permitting the woman Jezebel, her who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and misleads my servants to have immoral relations between the sexes and to eat things sacrificed to idols, 21 and I gave her time to repent and she is not willing to repent of her immorality. 22 Lo, I will stretch her on a couch, and throw those who commit adultery with her into great distress if they do not repent of her dealings, 23 and will kill her children with an epidemic, and all the churches shall know that I am he who searches hearts and bosoms; and I will give to each of you according to his deeds. 24 But you others in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching,—those who do not, as they say, know the deep things of Satan,—to you I say, I put on you no other burden; 25 what you have, though, hold till I come. And to the victor, 26 the man who keeps my dealings till the end, I will give dominion over the nations, 27 that he should drive them with an iron rod as earthen dishes are shattered, as I too received from my Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches.’

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘Says he who has the Seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your deeds, that you have the name of being alive and are dead. 2* Get awake, and strengthen what is left, that was about to die; for I have not found work of yours accomplished before my God; 3 so remember how it was that you received and heard, and keep it and repent. So if you do not keep awake I will come like a thief, and you shall not know at what hour I will come upon you. 4 But you have a few names in Sardis that did not soil their clothing, and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy to. 5 The victor shall be thus clad in white clothing; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, and I will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches.’

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘Says the Holy, the True, he who has David’s key, who opens and nobody shall shut, and shuts and nobody shall open: 8 I know your deeds; lo, I have set before you an open door which nobody can shut, because you have a little power and have kept my word and not disowned my name. 9 Lo, I grant men out of Satan’s congregation, of those who profess to be Jews and are not but are lying,—lo, I will make them come and do reverence before your face and know that I have loved you. 10 Because you kept my word of endurance, so will I keep you from the hour of testing that is to come all over the world of men, to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly; hold what you have, that no one may get your wreath. 12 The victor I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall never again go outside; and I will inscribe on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that is coming down out of heaven from my God, and my new name. 13 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches.’

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, ‘Says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation: 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot! 16 Thus, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. 17 Because you say “I am rich, my fortune is made, I am in no want of anything,” and do not know that you are the very one who is wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy of me fire-refined gold so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may be clad and the shame of your nakedness not be exposed, and eye-salve to put on your eyes so that you may see. 19 As many as I love I reprove and discipline; so be jealous and repent. 20 Here I am standing at the door and knocking: if one hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him and have supper with him, and he with me. 21 To the victor I will give a seat with me on my throne, as I too won the victory and took the seat with my Father on his throne. 22 Let him who has an ear hear what it is that the Spirit is saying to the churches.’”

4 After this I saw, and there in the sky was an opened door; and the first voice that I had heard, as if of a trumpet talking with me, saying “Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the spirit, and there a throne stood in heaven, and on the throne one was sitting; 3 and he who was sitting there was in aspect like a jaspid stone and a sard; and a rainbow around the throne, in aspect like an emerald. 4 And around the throne twenty-four thrones, and sitting on the thrones twenty-four aged men clad in white clothes, and on their heads golden wreaths. 5 And out of the throne go lightnings and noises and thunderclaps; and there are seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the Seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne is what seems as if it were a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the middle of the throne and round about the throne four creatures full of eyes before and behind, 7 the first creature being like a lion and the second creature like a steer, and the third creature with a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature like a flying eagle, 8 and all four creatures with six wings apiece; they are full of eyes all around and inward, and they have no rest day and night saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, the one who Is and Was and Is Coming.” 9 And when the creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne, him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four aged men will throw themselves down before him who sits on the throne and do reverence to him who lives forever and ever, and drop their wreaths before the throne saying 11 “Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because thou didst create all things, and at thy will they were and were created.”

5 And I saw lying in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written on the inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals; 2 and I saw a strong angel making proclamation in a loud voice “Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?” 3 and nobody in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth could open the book or look at it. 4* And I wept much because nobody worthy to open the book or look at it was found. 5 And one of the aged men said to me “Do not weep; here, the Lion out of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the day to open the book and its seven seals.” 6 And in the middle of the throne and the four creatures, and in the middle of the aged men, I saw standing a lamb looking as if it had been slaughtered, with seven heads and seven eyes, which are God’s Seven Spirits sent out into all the earth; 7 and it came, and it took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when it took the book the four creatures and the twenty-four aged men threw themselves down before the lamb, having each one a harp, and golden saucers full of incense which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sing a new song, “Worthy you are to take the book and open its seals, because you were slaughtered and bought men for God with your blood out of every tribe and language and people and race, 10 and made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11* And I saw and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the creatures and the aged men; and their number was thousands of thousands and millions of millions, 12 saying in a loud voice “Worthy is the slaughtered lamb to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing that there is in the heavens and on the earth and under the earth and over the sea, and everything in them, I heard saying “To him who sits on the throne, and to the lamb, belong blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.” 14 And the four creatures said “Amen”; and the aged men threw themselves down and did reverence.

6 And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four creatures say in a voice that sounded like a clap of thunder “Come!” 2 And I saw, and there was a white horse with a rider that had a bow and was given a wreath and went out victorious and to win victories.

3 And when he opened the second seal I heard the second creature say “Come!” 4 and another horse went out, a red one, with a rider to whom it was given to take peace from earth and that they should slaughter each other; and he was given a great sword.

5 And when he opened the third seal I heard the third creature say “Come!” And I saw, and there was a black horse with a rider that had a balance in his hand; 6 and I heard what seemed to be a voice among the four creatures say “A quart of wheat for a shilling and three quarts of barley for a shilling; and do not injure the oil and the wine.”

7 And when he opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth creature saying “Come!” 8 And I saw, and there was an ashy horse with a rider whose name was Death, and the Grave followed with him, and they were given dominion over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword and by starvation and by epidemics and by the beasts of the earth.

9 And when he opened the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and of the testimony that they had. 10 And they cried out loudly “How long will it be, holy and true Master, before thou wilt do justice and avenge our blood upon those who live on earth?” 11 and they were each given a white robe, and were told to rest a little while longer till the number of their fellow-servants and their brothers, who were to be killed the same as they had been, should also be completed.

12 And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like haircloth, and the whole moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig-tree shaken by a great wind throws off its green fruit, 14 and the sky broke away like a sheet of paper rolling up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places; 15 and the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the strong and every slave and freeman hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 and kept saying to the mountains and to the rocks “Fall on us and cover us away from him who sits on the throne and from the lamb’s anger, 17 because the great day of their anger has come, and who can stand?”

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow over the land nor over the sea nor on any tree; 2 and I saw another angel coming up from the eastern horizon with the seal of the living God, and he cried out loudly to the four angels to whom it was given to injure the land and the sea 3* “Do not injure the land nor the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 out of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed, out of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6 out of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7 out of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8 out of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, out of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand sealed.

9 After this I saw, and there was a great crowd, that no one could count, out of every race and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clad in white robes and with palms in their hands, 10 and they cried loudly “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb.” 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne and the aged men and the four creatures, and threw themselves down on their faces before the throne and did reverence to God, 12 saying “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever; amen.” 13 And one of the aged men answered by saying to me “Who are these that are clad in the white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 Said I to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me “These are the ones who come from the great distress, and who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 15* This is why they are before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will spread his presence over them; 16 they will hunger no more and thirst no more, nor shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat, 17 because the lamb in the center of the throne will take care of them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

8 And when he opened the seventh seal there came a silence in heaven for a half-hour.

2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and they were given seven trumpets. 3 And another angel came and took his stand on the altar with a golden censer, and was given much incense to use for the prayers of all God’s people on the golden altar before the throne; 4 and the smoke of the incense went up before God out of the angel’s hand for the prayers of God’s people. 5 And the angel took the censer, and he filled it with fire off the altar and threw it on the earth, and there came thunderclaps and noises and lightnings and an earthquake; 6 and the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared to blow.

7 And the first blew, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown on the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green herbage was burned up.

8 And the second angel blew, and what seemed like a great mountain on fire was thrown into the sea; 9 and a third of the sea turned to blood, and a third of the live creatures in the sea died, and a third of the shipping was wrecked.

10 And the third angel blew, and there fell out of the sky a great star blazing like a torch; and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water; 11 and the star was named Wormwood. And a third of the waters turned to wormwood, and many of the men died of the waters because they were turned bitter.

12 And the fourth angel blew, and a third of the sun was blasted and a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them should be darkened and the day should not be light for a third of it, and likewise the night.

13 And I saw, and I heard an eagle flying in the zenith say loudly “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, from the remaining trumpet-notes of the three angels that are to blow.”

9 And the fifth angel blew, and I saw a star from the sky fallen to the earth, and it was given the key to the well of the abyss. 2 And it opened the well of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the well like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the well. 3 And out of the smoke grasshoppers came out upon the ground, and they were given such powers as the scorpions on the ground have, 4 and were told not to injure the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, anything but the men who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads; 5 and it was given to them not to kill them, but that they should be tortured five months (and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion when it strikes a man), 6 and in those days men should look for death and not find it, and should desire to die and death should be fleeing away from them. 7 And the semblance of the grasshoppers was like horses prepared for war; and on their heads were what seemed to be wreaths like gold, and their faces were like faces of human beings, 8 and they had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions, 9 and they had coats of armor like iron armor, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many-horsed chariots galloping to war. 10 And they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to injure men five months. 11 They have over them a king, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek language he bears the name Apollyon.

12 The one Woe has gone; two more Woes are coming after.

13* And the sixth angel blew, and I heard one voice from the horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel, the one who had the trumpet, “Unchain the four angels that are chained at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels that were kept in readiness for the hour and day and month and year, to kill a third of mankind, were unchained. 16 And the number of the armies of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number. 17 And in my vision I saw the horses and their riders like this, with fire-colored and violet and sulfur-colored coats of armor; and the horses’ heads like lions’ heads, and out of their mouths went fire and smoke and sulfur-fumes. 18 By these three scourges a third of men were killed, by the fire and the smoke and the sulfur-fumes that went out of their mouths;— 19 for the powers of the horses are in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like snakes, with heads, and with them they do injury.— 20 And the rest of mankind, those who were not killed with these scourges, did not even repent of the deeds of their hands, not to do reverence to demons and to golden and silver and bronze and stone and wooden idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk, 21 and did not repent of their murders nor of their witchcraft nor of their unchastity nor of their thefts.

10 And I saw another angel, a strong one, come down out of the sky, wrapped in a cloud, the rainbow on his head and his face like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire, 2 and with a little open book in his hand; and he set his right foot on the sea and his left on the land, and cried out loudly, as a lion roars. 3 And when he cried out, the seven thunders spoke with their peals. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was going to write, and I heard a voice out of the sky say “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it.” 5 And the angel that I saw standing on the sea and the land lifted his right hand to the sky 6* and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and what is in them and the earth and what is in it and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay, 7 but in the days of the blast of the seventh angel, when he was to sound, God’s secret plan as he had communicated it to his servants the prophets would be all done. 8* And the voice that I had heard out of the sky I heard speaking with me again and saying “Go take the open book in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and the land.” 9 And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book; and he said to me “Take it and eat it up, and it shall turn your stomach bitter; but in your mouth it shall be as sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it up, and it was like sweet honey in my mouth; and when I had eaten it my stomach turned bitter. 11 And they said to me “You must prophesy again over many peoples and races and languages and kings.”

11 And I was given a reed like a staff, with the words “Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 And exclude the court outside the temple, and do not measure it; because it is given to the nations, and they shall tread the sacred city underfoot forty-two months. 3 And I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy twelve hundred and sixty days, clad in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive-trees, and the two lampstands, that stand before the Lord of the Earth. And if one intends to injure them fire goes out of their mouths and consumes their enemies: 5 anyone who intends to injure them must be killed in this way. 6 These have authority to shut the sky, that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying, and have authority over the waters to convert them into blood, and to smite the earth with every scourge as often as they wish. 7 And when they have finished their testimony the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them and defeat them and kill them; 8 and their corpses lie in the main street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, the same where their Lord was crucified; 9 and men of the peoples and tribes and languages and races look at their corpses three and a half days, and will not let their corpses be put in a tomb; 10 and those who live on the earth rejoice over them and jubilate, and shall send presents to each other, because these two prophets had tortured those who live on the earth.” 11 And after the three and a half days a spirit of life from God came into them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice out of the sky say to them “Come up here”; and they went up into the sky in a cloud, and their enemies saw them; 13* and at that moment there came a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell, and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons, and the rest were terror-struck and gave glory to the God of Heaven.

14 The second Woe has gone; the third Woe is coming quickly.

15 And the seventh angel blew, and there came loud voices in heaven saying “The empire of the world has come to be our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four aged men that were sitting on their thrones before God threw themselves down on their faces and did reverence to God, 17 saying “We thank thee, Lord God Almighty, who Is and Was, because thou hast taken thy great power and begun to reign, 18 and the nations have raged, and thy wrath has come and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give their reward to thy servants the prophets and the holy and to those who fear thy name, the small and the great, and to make havoc of the havoc-makers of the earth.” 19 And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was visible in his temple; and there came lightnings and noises and thunderclaps and an earthquake and a great storm of hail.

12 And a great portent appeared in the sky, a woman clad in the sun, the moon under her feet and a wreath of twelve stars on her head, 2 about to have a child; and she was screaming in her labor-pains, in the torture of giving birth. 3 And another portent appeared in the sky: lo, a great fiery-red serpent with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads, 4 its tail dragging a third of the stars in the sky and throwing them to earth. And the serpent was standing before the woman who was to bear the child, in order to eat up her child when she did bear it. 5 And she bore a son, a male, who is to drive all nations with an iron rod; and her child was snatched away to God and his throne; 6 and the woman fled to the desert, where she has a place prepared by God where they are to feed her twelve hundred and sixty days.

7 And there came a war in the sky, Michael and his angels battling with the serpent; and the serpent and its angels battled, 8* and did not succeed, nor was there any longer to be found in the sky a place for them. 9 And the great serpent was thrown down, the primeval snake, he who is called the Devil and Satan, the misleader of the whole world of men—thrown down to the earth, and its angels thrown down with it. 10* And I heard a loud voice in the sky say “Now is come our God’s salvation and power and empire, and his Christ’s dominion, because the accuser of our brothers is thrown down: he who accuses them before our God day and night, 11 and they won against him because of the Lamb’s blood and because of the word of their testimony, and did not love their lives even in the face of death. 12 Therefore jubilate, heavens and you that dwell in them! woe for the earth and the sea! because the Devil has gone down to you in a great rage, knowing that he has little time.”

13 And when the serpent saw that it was thrown down to the earth it chased the woman that had borne the male child. 14* And the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly to her place in the desert, where she is fed for a time and times and half a time to keep her from the snake. 15 And the snake threw out of its mouth after the woman water like a river to sweep her off her feet; 16 and the earth took the woman’s part, and opened its mouth and drank up the river that the serpent threw out of its mouth. 17 And the serpent was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her issue, that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus; and it planted itself on the sand of the sea.

13* And I saw come up out of the sea a beast with ten horns and seven heads, ten crowns on its horns and names of blasphemy on its heads; 2* and the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and its feet like a bear’s, and its mouth like that of a lion, and the serpent gave it its own power and its throne and great dominion; 3 and one of its heads as if it had had its throat cut and was dying; and its death-wound was cured. And the whole earth was fascinated over the beast; 4 and they did reverence to the serpent because it had given the beast the dominion, and did reverence to the beast saying “Who is like the beast? and who can war with it?” 5 And it was given a mouth uttering big speeches and blasphemies; and it was given dominion to act forty-two months; 6 and it opened its mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was privileged to make war with God’s people and to defeat them; and it was given dominion over every tribe and people and language and race; 8 and all that live on the earth shall do it reverence, whoever has not had his name written in the Slaughtered Lamb’s book of life since the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him listen: 10 whoever leads into captivity proceeds into captivity; whoever shall kill with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the endurance and faith of God’s people.

11 And I saw another beast come up out of the earth; and it had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a serpent. 12 And it exercises all the first beast’s dominion in its presence; and it makes the earth and those who live in it do reverence to the first beast whose death-wound was cured. 13 And it exhibits great tokens, so as even to make fire come down out of the sky to the earth before men. 14 And it misleads those who live on the earth because of the tokens that it is privileged to exhibit before the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast that has the sword-cut and has come to life. 15 And it is privileged to give the beast’s image a spirit, so that the beast’s image shall even speak and cause as many as do not do reverence to the beast’s image to be killed. 16 And it causes everybody, small and great and rich and poor and free and slave, to have a stamp put on his right hand or on his forehead, 17* and that no one shall be able to buy or sell except one who has the stamp, the beast’s name or the number of its name. 18* Here is wisdom: let him who has intelligence calculate the beast’s number; for it is a man’s number. And its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

14 And I saw, and there was the lamb standing on Mount Sion, and with it a hundred and forty-four thousand who had its name and its Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound out of heaven like the sound of much water and like the sound of loud thunder; and the sound that I heard was like that of harpers playing on their harps. 3* And they were singing what seemed to be a new song before the throne and before the four creatures and the aged men; and nobody could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been bought from the earth. 4 These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These are they who follow the lamb wherever it goes. These were bought from mankind as firstfruits for God and the lamb, 5 and in their mouths was found no falsehood: they are without a flaw.

6 And I saw another angel flying in the zenith with an eternal gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth and to every race and tribe and language and people, 7 saying in a loud voice “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour for his judgment has come; and do reverence to him who made the heavens and the earth and sea and springs of water.”

8 And a second angel followed, saying “She has fallen, she has fallen, great Babylon who gave all nations the wine of her rage of unchastity to drink.”

9 And a third angel followed them, saying in a loud voice “Whoever is doing reverence to the beast and its image, and taking a stamp on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he too shall drink the wine of God’s wrath that is mixed undiluted in the cup of his anger, and shall be tortured with fire and sulfur before holy angels and before the lamb; 11 and the smoke of their torture goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night, those who do reverence to the beast and its image and whoever takes the stamp of its name. 12 Here is the endurance of God’s people, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

13 And I heard a voice out of the sky say “Write ‘Happy are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth—yes, says the Spirit, to rest from their labors; for their deeds follow with them.’”

14 And I saw, and there was a white cloud; and sitting on the cloud the like of a son of man, with a golden wreath on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling in a loud voice to the one who was sitting on the cloud “Out with your sickle and reap, because reaping-time has come, because the harvest of the earth is dry”; 16 and the one who was sitting on the cloud threw his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel came out of the temple in heaven, also with a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out of the altar, he who has dominion over fire, and called loudly to the one who had the sharp sickle “Out with your sharp sickle and harvest the clusters of the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe”; 19 and the angel threw his sickle to the earth, and harvested the vintage of the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20* And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress up to horses’ bridles two hundred miles off.

15 And I saw another portent in the sky, a great and wonderful: seven angels with the seven last plagues—the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

2 And I saw what seemed as if it were a sea of glass mixed with fire; and standing on the sea of glass, with harps divine, those who have come off victorious from the beast and from its image and from its name-number. 3* And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the lamb: “Great and wonderful are thy deeds, Lord God Almighty; right and true are thy courses, King of the nations. 4 Who shall not be afraid, Lord, and glorify thy name because thou alone art holy? because all nations shall come and do reverence before thee, because thy right-doing is made manifest.”

5 And after this I saw, and the temple of the tent of attestation in heaven was opened, 6* and out of the temple came the seven angels that had the seven plagues, dressed in bright clean flax and belted round the chest with golden belts. 7 And one of the four creatures gave the seven angels seven golden saucers full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and nobody could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished.

16 And I heard a loud voice out of the temple say to the seven angels “Go and pour out the seven saucers full of the wrath of God on the earth.”

2 And the first went and poured out his saucer on the earth, and it became a rank malignant sore on the men who had the beast’s stamp and who did reverence to its image.

3 And the second poured out his saucer on the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man, and all animate life died, what was in the sea.

4 And the third poured out his saucer on the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood; 5 and I heard the angel of the water say “Thou art just, O holy Who Is and Was, in that thou didst pronounce these sentences, 6 because they shed the blood of holy men and of prophets and thou hast given them blood to drink: they deserve it”; 7 and I heard the altar say “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are thy judgments.”

8 And the fourth poured out his saucer on the sun, and it was given to the sun to scorch men with fire, 9 and men suffered a great scorching and blasphemed the name of the God who has dominion over these plagues, and did not repent to give him glory.

10 And the fifth poured out his saucer on the beast’s throne, and its empire was thrown into darkness, and they chewed their tongues for pain 11 and blasphemed the God of heaven for their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

12 And the sixth poured out his saucer on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up that the road for the kings from the sunrise might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, out of the serpent’s mouth and out of the beast’s mouth and out of the pretended prophet’s mouth; 14 for there are spirits of demons, doing tokens, that go out after the kings of the whole world of men to bring them together for the war of the great day of God Almighty.— 15 I am coming like a thief: happy is he who keeps awake and guards his clothes, that he may not go naked and have people see his indecent condition.— 16** And he brought them together to the place called in Hebrew Har Magedon.

17 And the seventh poured out his saucer on the air, and there came out of the temple from the throne a loud voice saying “It is done”; 18 and there were lightnings and noises and thunderclaps, and there was a great earthquake, such an earthquake as there has not been since there was a man on earth, 19 and the great city went into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the wine-cup of his fierce anger. 20 And every island took flight, and mountains left no trace. 21 And great hailstones, about a hundredweight each, came down upon men out of the sky; and men blasphemed God at the plague of the hail, because it was a very great plague.

17 And one of the seven angels that had the seven saucers came and talked with me, saying “Come here, I will show you the sentence of the great prostitute seated on a great water, 2 with whom the kings of the earth debauched themselves and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her unchaste embraces”; 3 and he carried me away to a desert in the spirit. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of names of blasphemy, with seven heads and ten horns; 4 and the woman was clad in purple and scarlet and jeweled with gold and precious stones and pearls, with a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the filth of her prostitution, 5 and written on her forehead a name with a secret meaning, “Great Babylon, mother of the prostitutes and abominations of the earth.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of God’s people and with the blood of Jesus’s witnesses. And great was my wonder at seeing her.

7* And the angel said to me “Why did you wonder? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carries her, that has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8* The beast that you saw was and is not, and is to come up out of the abyss, and goes to destruction; and those who live on the earth shall wonder, those whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, as they see how the beast was and is not and shall make its appearance. 9 Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills that the woman is seated on; 10 and they are seven kings—five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and must remain a little while when he does come. 11 And the beast that was and is not is himself an eighth and one of the seven, and goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who had not yet received empire, but they do receive dominion as kings for one hour with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and give their power and dominion to the beast. 14 These shall make war with the lamb, and the lamb shall defeat them, because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and those who are with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

15 And he said to me “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and masses and races and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, and the beast, these shall hate the prostitute and make her destitute and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her in a fire; 17 for God has put it into their hearts to do what is in his mind, and to concur unanimously in giving their empire to the beast till God’s words are all done. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has empire over the kings of the earth.”

18 After this I saw coming down out of the sky another angel, one that had great dominion, and the earth was lighted up with his glory. 2 And he cried with a strong voice “She has fallen, she has fallen, great Babylon has fallen and become a home of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit and a haunt of every unclean and odious bird, 3 because all the nations have drunk the wine of her rage of unchastity and the kings of the earth have debauched themselves with her and the merchants of the earth have grown rich out of the rush of her luxurious life.” 4 And I heard another voice out of the sky say “Come out of her, my people, that you may not be a party to her sins and may not share in her scourges, 5 because her sins have been crowded up to the sky and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her in the same coin that she paid in, and redouble to her the double of her own deeds; in the cup that she mixed in mix a double draft for her; 7 for every bit of her self-glorification and luxury give her as much of torment and mourning. Because she says in her heart ‘I am enthroned queen, I am not a widow, I shall not see mourning,’ 8* for this reason her scourges shall come in one day, pestilence and mourning and starvation, and she shall be burned in a fire, because strong is the Lord God who has judged her. 9 And the kings of the earth, who have debauched themselves with her and lived luxuriously in her company, shall weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of the burning of her, 10 standing far away for the fear of her torture, saying ‘Alas, alas, great city, Babylon, powerful city! because in one moment your judgment has come.’ 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her because nobody buys their cargoes any longer, 12 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and lawn and purple and silk and crimson, and every variety of sandarac-wood and every article of ivory and every article made of costliest wood and of bronze and iron and marble, 13 and cinnamon and amomum and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and oil and farina and wheat and cattle and sheep, and horses and carriages and slaves, and human lives. 14 And your summer dainties of heart’s desire are gone from you, and everything sumptuous and splendid of yours has perished, and nevermore shall anyone find them. 15 The merchants of these things, those who had grown rich from her, shall stand far away for the fear of her torture weeping and mourning, 16 saying ‘Alas, alas, great city clad in lawn and purple and crimson and jeweled with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17* because in one moment such wealth has been desolated.’ And every ship-captain and every voyager, and sailors and as many as get their living from the sea, stood far away 18 and cried, as they saw the smoke of the burning of her, ‘Who is like the great city?’ 19 and threw earth on their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, ‘Alas, alas, great city where all who had shipping at sea grew rich out of her costly fashions! because in one moment she has been desolated.’ 20 Jubilate over her, heaven! and God’s people and the apostles and the prophets! because God has passed judgment on her in your cause.”

21 And one strong angel took up a stone that seemed like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying “Thus shall the great city Babylon be hurled down with a plunge and never be found again. 22 And there shall never be heard in you again the sound of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters; and there shall never be found in you again any master of any art; and there shall never be heard in you again the sound of a mill; 23 and there shall never shine in you again the light of a lamp; and there shall never be heard in you again the voices of bridegroom and bride; because it was the magnates of the earth who were your merchants, because by your witchcraft all the nations were misguided. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and holy men and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”

19 After this I heard what seemed like the loud voice of a great crowd in heaven saying “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 because his judgments are true and just; because he has done justice on the great prostitute who debauched the earth with her prostitution, and has avenged his servants’ blood at her hands”; 3 and for the second time they said “Hallelujah!” And her smoke goes up forever and ever. 4 And the twenty-four aged men and the four creatures threw themselves down and did reverence to God who sits on the throne, saying “Amen; hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying “Praise our God, all his servants, you who fear him, small and great!” 6 And I heard what seemed as if it were the voices of a great crowd and the sound of much water and the pealing of strong thunders, all saying “Hallelujah, because the Lord our God Almighty has come into his reign! 7 Let us be glad and exult and give him glory, because the Lamb’s wedding has come and his wife has made her preparations 8* and has been given the privilege of dressing in bright clean lawn (because the lawn is the righteousnesses of God’s people).” 9* And he said to me “Write ‘Happy are those who are invited to the Lamb’s wedding dinner’”; and he said to me “These words are true words of God’s.” 10 And I threw myself down before his feet to do him reverence; and he said to me “See that you do not! I am a fellow-servant with you and your brothers that have the testimony of Jesus; do reverence to God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

11 And I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse with a rider called Faithful and True, who judges and wars on the side of right: 12 his eyes are flame and there are many crowns on his head, and he has a written name which nobody knows but he, 13* and is clad in a mantle dyed in blood, and is named The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven followed him on white horses, dressed in clean white lawn. 15 And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword to smite the nations with, and he shall drive them with an iron rod; and he treads the press of God Almighty’s fierce anger-wine. 16 And he has on his mantle and on his thigh a written name, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

17 And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice to all the birds that fly in the zenith “Come, gather to God’s great banquet 18 to eat kings’ flesh and generals’ flesh and strong men’s flesh and flesh of horses and their riders and flesh of everybody, freemen and slaves and small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered for the war with the rider on the horse and with his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the pretended prophet who did before it the tokens by which he misled those that took the beast’s stamp and that did reverence to its image: the two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur; 21 and the rest were killed by the rider’s sword that came out of his mouth, and all the birds gorged on their flesh.

20 And I saw an angel come down out of the sky with the key of the abyss, and a great chain over his arm; 2 and he seized the serpent, the primeval snake, who is the Devil and Satan, and chained him for a thousand years 3* and threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him, that he might no longer mislead the nations until the thousand years are finished: after this he must be unchained a little while.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them and were given a judgment to render; and the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as had not done reverence to the beast nor to its image and had not taken the stamp on their foreheads and hands, and they came to life and reigned with the Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years are finished. This is the first resurrection. 6* Happy and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection: over these the second death does not have dominion, but they shall be priests of God and the Christ and shall reign with him for the thousand years.

7 And when the thousand years are finished Satan will be unchained from his prison 8 and will come out to mislead the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them to the war; of whom the number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they came up over the breadth of the land and surrounded the camp of God’s people and the beloved city; and fire came down out of the sky and devoured them, 10 and the Devil their misleader was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, the same where the beast and the pretended prophet are, and they shall be tortured day and night forever and ever.

11 And I saw a great white throne and the One who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled and there was no place to be found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is that of life; and the dead were judged out of what was written in the books, in accordance with their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the world below gave up the dead that were in them, and they were judged each one in accordance with their deeds. 14 And death and the world below were thrown into the lake of fire: this is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And whoever was not found written down in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

21 And I saw new heavens and a new earth—for the former heavens and the former earth are gone, and the sea no longer exists— 2 and I saw the sacred city Jerusalem new, I saw it come down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice out of the throne say “Lo, God’s abode is with men and he will abide with them, and they shall be his peoples and he will be God with them 4 and will wipe away every tear out of their eyes, and death will no longer exist, nor will mourning nor outcry nor pain any longer exist, because former things are gone”; 5* and he who sat on the throne said “Lo, I am making everything new”; and it said “Write, because these words are true and trustworthy.” 6 And he said to me “The work is done. I am the A and the Z, the beginning and the end. I will give him who is thirsty free water from the spring of the water of life. 7 The victor shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. 8 But as for cowards and disbelievers and scoundrels and murderers and libertines and witchcraft-users and idolaters, and all liars, their portion shall be in the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

9 And one of the seven angels that had the seven saucers full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he took me in the spirit to a great high mountain and showed me the sacred city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having God’s glory: what it is lighted by is like a most precious stone, as if it were a crystalline jaspid stone; 12 it has a great high wall, and has twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on the gates which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel— 13* on the east three gates and on the north three gates and on the south three gates and on the west three gates; 14 and the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the Lamb’s twelve apostles. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measure, a golden reed, to measure the city and its gates and its wall. 16* And the city stands as a square, its length the same as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed for twelve thousand stadia: its length and its breadth and its height are equal. 17* And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, man’s measure, which is angel’s measure. 18 And the masonry of its wall was jaspid; and the city was pure gold like pure glass. 19 The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation jaspid, the second lapis lazuli, the third dioptase, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sard, the seventh topaz, the eighth beryl, the ninth peridot, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh sapphire, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: each one of the gates was made of one pearl. And the avenues of the city were pure gold, that seemed as if it were transparent glass. 22 And I did not see any temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lamb. 23 And the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine for it; for God’s glory lights it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations will walk through its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory to it; 25 and its gates shall not be shut by day (for there will be no night there), 26* and they will bring the glory and honor of the nations to it; 27 and there shall not enter it any unholy thing and doer of abomination and falsehood, but those who are written down in the Lamb’s book of life.

22 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, running out of the throne of God and the Lamb 2 through the middle of its main avenue; and on this side of the river and on that side were trees of life producing twelve crops of fruit, bringing in their fruit each month; and the leaves of the trees were for curing the diseases of the nations. 3 And there will no longer be any ban. And the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it; and his servants, 4 his name on their foreheads, will worship him and see his face. 5* And there will no longer be night, and they do not need lamplight and sunlight, because the Lord God will light them; and they will reign forever and ever.

6 And he said to me “These words are true and trustworthy, and the Lord, the God of the prophets’ spirits, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. 7 And lo, I am coming quickly. Happy is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” 8 And it was I, John, who heard and saw these things; and when I heard and saw, I threw myself down to do reverence before the feet of the angel who was showing me these things, 9 and he said to me “See that you do not! I am a fellow-servant with you and your brothers the prophets and those who keep the words of this book; do reverence to God.”

10 And he said to me “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is near. 11 Let the wronger still wrong and the grimy still go grimy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still act holily: 12 lo, I am coming quickly, with my pay with me to pay each as his work is. 13 I am the A and the Z, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Happy are those who wash their robes, that their rights may extend to the trees of life and they may enter the city by the gates; 15 outside are the dogs and the witchcraft-users and the libertines and the murderers and the idolaters and everybody who loves falsehood and does it. 16* I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony over the churches. I am the root and line of David, the bright morning star.”

17 And the Spirit and the Bride are saying “Come!” and let him who hears say “Come!” and whoever is thirsty, come! take water of life free, whoever will!

18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book that if one puts anything on to it God will put on him the scourges that are written in this book, 19 and if one takes anything away from the words of the book of this prophecy God will take his portion away from the trees of life, and from the sacred city, that are written in this book.

20 Says he who gives this testimony, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen: come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.

MARGINAL READINGS FOR REVELATION