2 When the day of Pentecost came round, while they were all gathered together in unity of purpose,² all at once a sound came from heaven like that of a strong wind blowing, and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then appeared to them what seemed to be tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them; ⁴ and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in strange languages, as the Spirit gave utterance to each.^[a] 5 Among those who were dwelling in Jerusalem at this time were devout Jews from every country under heaven;^[b] 6 so, when the noise of this went abroad, the crowd which gathered was in bewilderment; each man severally heard them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were all beside themselves with astonishment; Are they not all Galileans speaking? they asked. ⁸ How is it that each of us hears them talking his own native tongue?⁹ There are Parthians among us, and Medes, and Elamites; our homes are in Mesopotamia, or Judaea,^[c] or Cappadocia; in Pontus or Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia or Pamphylia, Egypt or the parts of Libya round Cyrene; some of us are visitors from Rome, ¹¹ some of us are Jews and others proselytes; there are Cretans among us too, and Arabians; and each has been hearing them tell of God’s wonders in his own language. ¹² So they were all beside themselves with perplexity, and asked one another, What can this mean? ¹³ There were others who said, mockingly, They have had their fill of new wine.

¹⁴ But Peter, with the eleven apostles at his side, stood there and raised his voice to speak to them; Men of Judaea, he said, and all you who are dwelling in Jerusalem, I must tell you this; listen to what I have to say. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ This is what was foretold by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ In the last times, God says, I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters will be prophets. Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; ¹⁸ and I will pour out my spirit in those days upon my servants and hand-maids, so that they will prophesy. ¹⁹ I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and whirling smoke; ²⁰ the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, great and glorious. ²¹ And then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.^[d] 22 Men of Israel, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a man duly accredited to you from God; such were the miracles and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves well know. ²³ This man you have put to death; by God’s fixed design and foreknowledge, he was betrayed to you, and you, through the hands of sinful men, have cruelly murdered him. ²⁴ But God raised him up again, releasing him from the pangs of death; it was impossible that death should have the mastery over him. ²⁵ It is in his person that David says, Always I can keep the Lord within sight; always he is at my right hand, to make me stand firm. ²⁶ So there is gladness in my heart, and rejoicing on my lips; my body, too, shall rest in confidence ²⁷ that thou wilt not leave my soul in the place of death, or allow thy faithful servant to see corruption.²⁸ Thou hast shewn me the way of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness in thy presence.^[e] 29 My brethren, I can say this to you about the patriarch David without fear of contradiction, that he did die, and was buried, and his tomb is among us to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised him on oath that he would set the sons of his body upon his throne; ³¹ it was of the Christ he said, foreseeing his resurrection, that he was not left in the place of death, and that his body did not see corruption. ³² God, then, has raised up this man, Jesus, from the dead; we are all witnesses of it. ³³ And now, exalted at God’s right hand, he has claimed from his Father his promise to bestow the Holy Spirit; and he has poured out that Spirit, as you can see and hear for yourselves. ³⁴ David never went up to heaven, and yet David has told us, The Lord said to my Master, Sit on my right hand, ³⁵ while I make thy enemies a footstool under thy feet.^[f] 36 Let it be known, then, beyond doubt, to all the house of Israel, that God has made him Master and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

³⁷ When they heard this, their consciences were stung; and they asked Peter and his fellow apostles, Brethren, what must we do? ³⁸ Repent, Peter said to them, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to have your sins forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.³⁹ This promise is for you and for your children, and for all those, however far away, whom the Lord our God calls to himself. ⁴⁰ And he used many more words besides, urgently appealing to them; Save yourselves, he said, from this false-minded generation. ⁴¹ So all those who had taken his words to heart were baptized, and about three thousand souls were won for the Lord that day. ⁴² These occupied themselves continually with the apostles’ teaching, their fellowship in the breaking of bread, and the fixed times of prayer,^[g] 43 and every soul was struck with awe, so many were the wonders and signs performed by the apostles in Jerusalem. ⁴⁴ All the faithful held together, and shared all they had, ⁴⁵ selling their possessions and their means of livelihood, so as to distribute to all, as each had need. ⁴⁶ They persevered with one accord, day by day, in the temple worship, and, as they broke bread in this house or that, took their share of food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God, and winning favour with all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship others that were to be saved.

7 And now I saw four angels, standing at the world’s four corners, and holding back the four winds of the world, so that no wind should blow on land or sea, or upon any of the trees. ² And I saw a second angel coming up from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered to lay waste land and sea; ³ Do not lay waste land or sea or wood, until we have put a seal on the foreheads of those who serve our God. ⁴ Then I heard the count of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand of them, taken from every tribe of the sons of Israel. ⁵ Twelve thousand were sealed from the tribe of Juda, twelve thousand from the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad; ⁶ twelve thousand from the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Aser, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasses; ⁷ twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar; ⁸ twelve thousand from the tribe of Zabulon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin.^[a] 9 And then I saw a great multitude, past all counting, taken from all nations and tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne in the Lamb’s presence, clothed in white robes, with palm-branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and cried with a loud voice, To our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, all saving power belongs. ¹¹ And all the angels that were standing round the throne, round the elders and the living figures, fell prostrate before the throne and paid God worship; ¹² Amen, they cried, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength belong to our God through endless ages, Amen.¹³ And now one of the elders turned to me, and asked, Who are they, and whence do they come, these who are robed in white? ¹⁴ My Lord, said I, thou canst tell me. These, he said, have come here out of the great affliction; they have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And now they stand before God’s throne, serving him day and night in his temple; the presence of him who sits on the throne shall overshadow them. ¹⁶ They will not be hungry or thirsty any more; no sun, no noonday heat, shall fall across their path. ¹⁷ The Lamb, who dwells where the throne is, will be their shepherd, leading them out to the springs whose water is life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

22 He shewed me, too, a river, whose waters give life; it flows, clear as crystal, from the throne of God, from the throne of the Lamb. ² On either side of the river, mid-way along the city street, grows the tree that gives life, bearing its fruit twelvefold, one yield for each month. And the leaves of this tree bring health to all the nations.^[a] 3 No longer can there be any profanation in that city; God’s throne (which is the Lamb’s throne) will be there, with his servants to worship him, ⁴ and to see his face, his name written on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night, no more need of light from lamp or sun; the Lord God will shed his light on them, and they will reign for ever and ever.

⁶ Then the angel said to me, These words are sure and true. The Lord God who inspires his prophets has sent his angel to tell his servants what must soon find its due accomplishment.^[b] 7 Patience, I am coming soon. Blessed is he who holds fast the words of prophecy this book contains. ⁸ All this I, John, heard and saw, till, hearing and seeing it, I fell down as if to worship at the feet of the angel who revealed it to me. ⁹ But he said, Never that; I am only a fellow servant of thine, and of thy brother prophets, and of all who hold fast the words which this book contains. Keep thy worship for God.^[c]

¹⁰ Then the command came to me, Do not seal up the words of prophecy that are contained in this book; the time is close at hand.^[d] 11 Meanwhile, the wrong-doer must persist in his deeds of wrong, the corrupt in his corruption, the just man in winning his justification, the holy in his life of holiness.¹² Patience, I am coming soon; and with me comes the award I make, repaying each man according to the life he has lived.

¹³ I am Alpha, I am Omega, I am before all, I am at the end of all, the beginning of all things and their end. ¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their garments in the blood of the Lamb; so they will have access to the tree which gives life, and find their way through the gates into the city.^[e] 15 No room there for prowling dogs, for sorcerers and wantons and murderers and idolaters, for anyone who loves falsehood and lives in it. ¹⁶ I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you the assurance of this in your churches; I, the root, I, the offspring of David’s race, I, the bright star that brings in the day. ¹⁷ The Spirit and my bride bid me come; let everyone who hears this read out say, Come. Come, you who are thirsty, take, you who will, the water of life; it is my free gift.

¹⁸ To all who hear the words of prophecy this book contains, I give this warning. If anyone adds to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues which this book threatens; ¹⁹ and if anyone cancels a word in this book of prophecy, God will cancel his share in the book of life, in the holy city, in all that this book promises.^[f] 20 And he who gives this warning says, Indeed I am coming soon. Be it so, then; come, Lord Jesus.^[g] 21 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.^[h]