Revelation 1
New Testament · English Majority Text Version with Greek parallel
Revelation chapter 1 is given here in full, verse by verse, in the English Majority Text Version (EMTV), with the Byzantine Majority Text set beneath each verse. The text follows the Byzantine textual tradition used in the Orthodox Church.
10 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Victorinus of Pettau.
Revelation 1
1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to show His servants the things which must come to pass quickly. And He made it known by sending it through His angel to His servant John,Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει, καὶ ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννῃ,
2who testified to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, as many things as He saw, both the things that are and those that must happen after these.ὃς ἐμαρτύρησε τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅσα εἶδε.
3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and who keep the things having been written in it; for the time is near.μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας καὶ τηροῦντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα, ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς.
4John, to the seven churches which 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,Ἰωάννης ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις ταῖς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος· καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἑπτὰ πνευμάτων ἃ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ·
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 who washed us from our sins in His own blood,καὶ ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός, ὁ πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν καὶ ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς. Τῷ ἀγαπῶντι ἡμᾶς καὶ λούσαντι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ,
6and He made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ—αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.
7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen!ἰδού, ἔρχεται μετὰ τῶν νεφελῶν, καὶ ὄψεται αὐτὸν πᾶς ὀφθαλμός καὶ οἵτινες αὐτὸν ἐξεκέντησαν, καὶ κόψονται ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς. ναί, ἀμήν.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “He who is and He who was and He who is to come, The Almighty.”Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεός, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ὁ παντοκράτωρ.
9I, John, your brother and partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Christ Jesus, came to be on the island that is called Patmos on account of the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.Ἐγὼ Ἰωάννης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν καὶ κοινωνὸς ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me,ἐγενόμην ἐν Πνεύματι ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν ὀπίσω μου μεγάλην ὡς σάλπιγγος
11saying, “That which you see, write in a book and send to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”λεγούσης, Ὃ βλέπεις γράψον εἰς βιβλίον καὶ πέμψον ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαις, εἰς Ἔφεσον καὶ εἰς Σμύρναν καὶ εἰς Πέργαμον καὶ εἰς Θυάτειρα καὶ εἰς Σάρδεις καὶ εἰς Φιλαδέλφειαν καὶ εἰς Λαοδίκειαν.
12And there I turned to see the voice which was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,Καὶ ἐκεῖ ἐπέστρεψα βλέπειν τὴν φωνὴν ἥτις ἐλάλει μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ. καὶ ἐπιστρέψας εἶδον ἑπτὰ λυχνίας χρυσᾶς
13and in the midst of the seven lampstands stood One like the Son of Man, having been clothed in a robe reaching to His feet and having been girded across His chest with a golden belt.καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἑπτὰ λυχνιῶν ὅμοιον υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, ἐνδεδυμένον ποδήρη καὶ περιεζωσμένον πρὸς τοῖς μαστοῖς ζώνην χρυσῆν.
14And His head and His hair were white, and like white wool, like snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire;ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ τρίχες λευκαί, καὶ ὡς ἔριον λευκόν, ὡς χιών· καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς φλὸξ πυρός·
15And His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὅμοιοι χαλκολιβάνῳ, ὡς ἐν καμίνῳ πεπυρωμένοι· καὶ ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ὡς φωνὴ ὑδάτων πολλῶν·
16He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was as the sun shining in its strength.καὶ ἔχων ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ χειρὶ ἀστέρας ἑπτά· καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ῥομφαία δίστομος ὀξεῖα ἐκπορευομένη· καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος φαίνει ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ.
17And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He put His right hand on me, saying, “Do not fear; I am the First and the Last.Καὶ ὅτε εἶδον αὐτόν, ἔπεσον πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ὡς νεκρός. καὶ ἔθηκε τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ λέγων, Μὴ φοβοῦ· ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος
18I am He who lives, and became dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Death and of Hades.καὶ ὁ ζῶν, καὶ ἐγενόμην νεκρός, καὶ ἰδού, ζῶν εἰμι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν. καὶ ἔχω τὰς κλεῖδας τοῦ Θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾍδου.
19Write therefore the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.γράψον οὖν ἃ εἶδες καὶ ἅ εἰσι καὶ ἃ μέλλει γίνεσθαι μετὰ ταῦτα.
20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.τὸ μυστήριον τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀστέρων ὧν εἶδες ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς μου καὶ τὰς ἑπτὰ λυχνίας τὰς χρυσᾶς· οἱ ἑπτὰ ἀστέρες ἄγγελοι τῶν ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησιῶν εἰσι, καὶ αἱ λυχνίαι αἱ ἑπτὰ ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαι εἰσί.
The Fathers on Revelation 1
Victorinus of Pettau comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Revelation 1:1Victorinus of Pettau1. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, and showed unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass, and signified it. Blessed are they who read and hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things which are written.”] The beginning of the book promises blessing to him that reads and...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:4Victorinus of Pettau4. “Grace unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come.”] He is, because He endures continually; He was, because with the Father He made all things, and has at this time taken a beginning from the Virgin; He is to come, because assuredly He will come to judgment. “And from the seven...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:5Victorinus of Pettau5. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first-begotten of the dead.”] In taking upon Him manhood, He gave a testimony in the world, wherein also having suffered, He freed us by His blood from sin; and having vanquished hell, He was the first who rose from the dead, and “death shall have no more...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:6Victorinus of Pettau6. “And He made us a kingdom and priests unto God and His Father.”] That is to say, a Church of all believers; as also the Apostle Peter says: “A holy nation, a royal priesthood.”
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:7Victorinus of Pettau7. “Behold, He shall come with clouds, and every eye shall see Him.”] For He who at first came hidden in the manhood that He had undertaken, shall after a little while come to judgment manifest in majesty and glory. And what saith He?
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:12Victorinus of Pettau12. “And I turned, and saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.”] He says that He was like Him after His victory over death, when He had ascended into the heavens, after the union in His body of the power which He received from the Father with the...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:13Victorinus of Pettau13. “As it were the Son of man walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks.”] He says, in the midst of the churches, as it is said in Solomon, “I will walk in the midst of the paths of the just,” whose antiquity is immortality, and the fountain of majesty. “Clothed with a garment down to the ankles.”] In the long,...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:14Victorinus of Pettau14. “And His head and His hairs were white as it were white wool, and as it were snow.”] On the head the whiteness is shown; “but the head of Christ is God.” In the white hairs is the multitude of abbots like to wool, in respect of simple sheep; to snow, in respect of the innumerable crowd of candidates taught from...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:16Victorinus of Pettau16. “And in His face was brightness as the sun.”] That which He called brightness was the appearance of that in which He spoke to men face to face. But the glory of the sun is less than the glory of the Lord. Doubtless on account of its rising and setting, and rising again, that He was born and suffered and rose...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →
On Revelation 1:15Open Revelation 1 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Victorinus of Pettau15. “His feet were like unto yellow brass, as if burned in a furnace.”] He calls the apostles His feet, who, being wrought by suffering, preached His word in the whole world; for He rightly named those by whose means the preaching went forth, feet. Whence also the prophet anticipated this, and said: “We will worship...
Read Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John →