The Preeminence of Christ

15 ⁱHe is the image of ^jthe invisible God, ^kthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by¹ him all things were created, ^lin heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^mthrones or ⁿdominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^othrough him and for him. 17 And ^phe is before all things, and in him all things ^qhold together. 18 And ^rhe is the head of the body, the church. He is ^sthe beginning, ^tthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For ^uin him all the ^vfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and ^wthrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^xmaking peace ^yby the blood of his cross.

9 But we see him ^owho for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, ^pcrowned with glory and honor ^qbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might ^rtaste death ^sfor everyone.

10 For it ^twas fitting that he, ^ufor whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons ^vto glory, should make the ^wfounder of their salvation ^xperfect through suffering. 11 For ^yhe who sanctifies and ^zthose who are sanctified ^aall have one source.¹ That is why he is not ashamed to call them ^bbrothers,² 12 saying,

13 And again,

And again,

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise ^hpartook of the same things, that ⁱthrough death he might ^jdestroy ^kthe one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who ^lthrough fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he ^mhelps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had ⁿto be made like his brothers in every respect, ^oso that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest ^pin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered ^qwhen tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Prologue

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.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

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.”

Vision of the Son of Man

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.