³⁶ And the king will do his pleasure; he will put himself on high, lifting himself over every god, and saying things to be wondered at against the God of gods; and all will be well for him till the wrath is complete; for what has been purposed will be done.

¹ In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a secret was unfolded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, even a hard work: and he had knowledge of it, and the vision was clear to him.

² In those days I, Daniel, gave myself up to grief for three full weeks.

³ I had no pleasing food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, and I put no oil on my body till three full weeks were ended.

⁴ And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was by the side of the great river;

⁵ And lifting up my eyes I saw the form of a man clothed in a linen robe, and round him there was a band of gold, of the best gold:

⁶ And his body was like the beryl, and his face had the look of a thunder-flame, and his eyes were like burning lights, and his arms and feet like the colour of polished brass, and the sound of his voice was like the sound of an army.

⁷ And I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see it; but a great shaking came on them and they went in flight to take cover.

⁸ So I was by myself, and I saw this great vision, and all my strength went from me; and the colour went from my face.

⁹ But the sound of his words came to my ears, and on hearing his voice I went into a deep sleep with my face to the earth.

¹⁰ Then a hand gave me a touch, awaking me, and putting me on my knees and my hands.

¹¹ And he said to me, O Daniel, you man dearly loved, take in the sense of the words I say to you and get up on to your feet: for to you I am now sent; and when he had said this to me I got on to my feet, shaking with fear.

¹² Then he said to me, Have no fear, Daniel; for from the first day when you gave your heart to getting wisdom and making yourself poor in spirit before your God, your words have come to his ears: and I have come because of your words.

¹³ But the angel of the kingdom of Persia put himself against me for twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief angels, came to my help; and when I came he was still there with the angel of the kings of Persia.

¹⁴ Now I have come to give you knowledge of the fate of your people in the later days; for there is still a vision for the days.

¹⁵ And after he had said these words to me, I kept my face turned to the earth and was unable to say anything.

¹⁶ Then one whose form was like the sons of men put his finger on my lips; and opening my mouth, I said to him who was before me, O my lord, because of the vision my pains have come on me, and I have no more strength.

¹⁷ For how may this servant of my lord have talk with my lord? for, as for me, straight away my strength went from me and there was no breath in my body.

¹⁸ Then again one having the form of a man put his hand on me and gave me strength.

¹⁹ And he said to me, O man greatly loved, have no fear: peace be with you, be strong and let your heart be lifted up. And at his words I became strong, and said, Let my lord say on, for you have given me strength.

²⁰ Then he said, It is clear to you why I have come to you. And now I will give you an account of what is recorded in the true writings:

²¹ But I am going back to make war with the angel of Persia, and when I am gone, the angel of Greece will come. And there is no one on my side against these, but Michael, your angel.

¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him so that his servants might have knowledge of the things which will quickly take place: and he sent and made it clear by his angel to his servant John;

² Who gave witness of the word of God, and of the witness of Jesus Christ, even of all the things which he saw.

³ A blessing be on the reader, and on those who give ear to the prophet's words, and keep the things which he has put in the book: for the time is near.

⁴ John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and was and is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his high seat;

⁵ And from Jesus Christ, the true witness, the first to come back from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who had love for us and has made us clean from our sins by his blood;

⁶ And has made us to be a kingdom and priests to his God and Father; to him let glory and power be given for ever and ever. So be it.

⁷ See, he comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those by whom he was wounded; and all the tribes of the earth will be sorrowing because of him. Yes, so be it.

⁸ I am the First and the Last, says the Lord God who is and was and is to come, the Ruler of all.

⁹ I, John, your brother, who have a part with you in the trouble and the kingdom and the quiet strength of Jesus, was in the island which is named Patmos, for the word of God and the witness of Jesus.

¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and a great voice at my back, as of a horn, came to my ears,

¹¹ Saying, What you see, put in a book, and send it to the seven churches; to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.

¹² And turning to see the voice which said these words to me, I saw seven gold vessels with lights burning in them;

¹³ And in the middle of them one like a son of man, clothed with a robe down to his feet, and with a band of gold round his breasts.

¹⁴ And his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

¹⁵ And his feet like polished brass, as if it had been burned in a fire; and his voice was as the sound of great waters.

¹⁶ And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword: and his face was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷ And when I saw him, I went down on my face at his feet as one dead. And he put his right hand on me, saying, Have no fear; I am the first and the last and the Living one;

¹⁸ And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell.

¹⁹ Put in writing, then, the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will be after these;

²⁰ The secret of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold vessels with burning lights. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven lights are the seven churches.