3 Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear {the}^c {words}^d of this 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 {the one}^e who is and who was and who is to come, 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 the one {loving}^f us and {to the one who set [us]^g free}^h from [our]ⁱ sins by his blood, 6 and^j he has made {us}^k {a kingdom, priests}^l to his God and Father; to him be glory and dominion forever [and ever].^m Amen.

7 Behold, he is coming {with}ⁿ the clouds,^o and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Yes, amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, [[the Beginning and the End]]”^p says the Lord God,^q “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance {in}^r [[Christ]]^s {Jesus},^t was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and [[for]]^u the testimony of Jesus [[Christ]].^v

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “[[I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last and]]^w What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches [[in Asia]]:^x to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis,^y to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 And [[there]]^z I turned to see the voice that {was speaking}^a with me, and having turned I saw seven golden lampstands 13 and in the midst of the [[seven]]^b lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white like white wool, like snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire; 15 and his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace; and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 He had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp, double-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its strength.

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, and he placed his right hand on me, saying [[to me]],^c “[Do not be afraid;]^d I am the {first}^e and the last, 18 and the living one — and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of {death and of Hades}.^f [[Amen.]]^g 19 [Therefore],^h write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these.

20 “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw {on}ⁱ my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands [[which you saw]]^j are the seven churches.”