1 This is what God showed to Jesus Christ, so that he could tell his servants what must happen soon. Christ then sent his angel with the message to his servant John. 2 And John told everything he had seen about God's message and about what Jesus Christ had said and done.
3 God will bless everyone who reads this prophecy to others, and he will bless everyone who hears and obeys it. The time is almost here.
4 From John to the seven churches in Asia.
I pray that you
will be blessed
with kindness and peace
from God, who is and was
and is coming.
May you receive
kindness and peace
from the seven spirits
before the throne of God.
5 May kindness and peace
be yours
from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness.
Jesus was the first
to conquer death,
and he is the ruler
of all earthly kings.
Christ loves us,
and by his blood
he set us free
from our sins.
6 He lets us rule as kings
and serve God his Father
as priests.
To him be glory and power
forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He is coming
with the clouds.
Everyone will see him,
even the ones who stuck
a sword through him.
All people on earth
will weep because of him.
Yes, it will happen! Amen.
8 The Lord God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is coming. I am God All-Powerful!”
A Vision of the Risen Lord
9 I am John, a follower together with all of you. We suffer because Jesus is our king, but he gives us the strength to endure. I was sent to Patmos Island, because I had preached God's message and had told about Jesus. 10 On the Lord's day the Spirit took control of me, and behind me I heard a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet. 11 The voice said, “Write in a book what you see. Then send it to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 There with the lampstands was someone who seemed to be the Son of Man. He was wearing a robe that reached down to his feet, and a gold cloth was wrapped around his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as wool or snow, and his eyes looked like flames of fire. 15 His feet were glowing like bronze being heated in a furnace, and his voice sounded like the roar of a waterfall. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword was coming from his mouth. His face was shining as bright as the sun at noon.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead person. But he put his right hand on me and said:
Don't be afraid! I am the first, the last, 18 and the living one. I died, but now I am alive forever, and I have the keys to death and the world of the dead. 19 Write what you have seen and what is and what will happen after these things. 20 I will explain the mystery of the seven stars you saw at my right side and the seven gold lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the lampstands are the seven churches.
Matama e kutanga
1 Eyi i zumbunulo ya Jesu Kirisiti yaakapiwa nge Ndzimu kulakidza balanda bawo tjinowoshingikala tjinyolotjo. Jesu kaizibisa nge kutuma ntumwa uwe we kudzimu kuyizibisa nlanda uwe Johani. 2 Johani kapa butendeki ngekwe dama le Ndzimu negwe tjakashingwa ndi Jesu Kirisiti, kaleba tjimwe ne tjimwe tjaakabona. 3 Wakakombolegwa nge unobalila pezhugwi matama e bulebesambeli igogu ne banohwa matama iyawo bakakombolegwa ne banolondolodza tjakakwagwa muguli ngobe tjibaka tjasedzela.
Dumiliso ku makubungano ali kutendeka
4 Ndimi Johani, ndokwalila makubungano ali kutendeka mu ntuthu we Ezhiya:
Ngoni ngadzibe namwi ne kunyalala kunodwa ku Ndzimu iwo wakabepo, nangwenu uyapo, kakale utjawozha, nenge kunodwa ku meya ili kutendeka imbeli kwe tjigalo tje bushe gwe Ndzimu, 5 ne kuna Jesu Kirisiti iye ntendeki unogalikabgwe, mbano muna bakamusiwa mu bafi, kakale ali mbusi wa bomambo be shango.
Kunli iye unotida, kakale akatisunungula mu zwibi zwedu nge malopa awe, 6 katithama kuti tibe bushe ne bapirisiti be Ndzimu uwe, ibo tate babe. Kuna Jesu Kirisiti ngakube ne gudzo nenge simba nge kusingapele kose. Ngakujalo.
7 Bonani, unozha nge makole, ngono mesho wose anowombona, kose na ibabo bakambhaya ne njudzi dzose dze shango dzowolila nge kukwe. Ngakujalo.
8 “Ndimi bhalule kakale bhelelo,” kolebeleka She Ndzimu, iwo uyapo, kakale wakabe yapo, kakale utjawozha, iwo Masimbawose.
Mbono ya Johani ebona Kirisiti
9 Ndimi Johani ikamu tjenyu, imi ndakashanganyila namwi muna Jesu kudziyidziwa nenge bushe ne moyonlefu mu kudzikitadza, ndakabe ndili mu tjigwizi tje Patimosi ngekwe dama le Ndzimu nenge butendeki gwa Jesu. 10 Ndakabe mu Meya nge zhuba la She, ngono ahwa hwi gulu linonga nsindo we lunyanga gunolidziwa shule kwangu, 11 liti, “Kwala mu lukwalo tjaunobona, ngono ugutumilile ku makubungano ali kutendeka, mu nzi we Efeso newe Simirina newe Pegamo newe Tiyatira newe Sadisi newe Filadelifiya newe Laodikeya.”
12 Ipapo atendebuka alinga shule kuti ndibone unolebeleka nami, ngono abona zwigadziko zwe mavone ali kutendeka zwakathamiwa nge golide, 13 ngono pakati kwazo kwakabe kuna mmwe unonga Nkololo we Nthu, akaambala hazu ndefu, akazwisunga pa ifuba nge mwandabula we golide. 14 Nsholo uwe ne mavudzi awe akabe ali matjena se lungudze, ali matjena enga makaa e vula, ngono mesho awe enga nthuto we moto, 15 makumbo awe epenya se phangula yakapholitjiwa, yakapisiwa mu vutho ikakuyungiwa, ngono hwi lile lakabe linga nsindo we vula njinji. 16 Wakabe akabhata nyenyedzi dzili kutendeka mu luboko gugwe gwe luji, ngono mu nlomo uwe kukabhuda bukanu gunopitsha guna mahali mabili. Buso gugwe gwakabe gupenya se zhuba linopenya nge masimba wose. 17 Ndakati ndimbona awila pasi mbeli kwe makumbo awe ndinga ndafa, wakabiga luboko gugwe gwe luji pezhugwi kwangu, ebe eti, “Usitje, ndimi we kutanga kakale we bupelo. 18 Ndimi unotjila, ndakabe ndafa, ngono bona ndotjila nge kusingapele kose. Ndina simba pezhugwi kwe lufu ne bugalo gwe bafi. 19 Ndizo kwala zwithu zwaunobona, zwithu zose zwiyapo sangwenu ne zwithu zwinowoshingikala shule kwa ipapa. 20 Akuli ngekwe masazibgwe e nyenyedzi dzili kutendeka dzawabona mu luboko gwangu gwe luji ne zwigadziko zwe mavone zwe golide zwili kutendeka, nyenyedzi idzedzi dzili kutendeka batumwa be kudzimu mu makubungano ali kutendeka. Zwigadziko zwe mavone zwe golide zwili kutendeka makubungano ali kutendeka.”