# Revelation 1.20

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**Book:** [Revelation](/codex/revelation/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.</span>** (Revelation 1:18-20, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter;</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.</span>** (Revelation 1:18-20, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.</span>** (Revelation 1:18-20, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 18. <span class="rl-speech">and he who is living, and I did become dead, and, lo, I am living to the ages of the ages. Amen! and I have the keys of the hades and of the death.</span> 19. <span class="rl-speech">'Write the things that thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to come after these things;</span>
>
> **20. <span class="rl-speech">the secret of the seven stars that thou hast seen upon my right hand, and the seven golden lamp-stands: the seven stars are messengers of the seven assemblies, and the seven lamp-stands that thou hast seen are seven assemblies.</span>** (Revelation 1:18-20, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from Religious Experience](/codex/argument-from-religious-experience/), via [Revelation 1.9-20](/codex/revelation-1-9-20/)
- [Conditional Immortality from Text-First Method](/codex/conditional-immortality-from-text-first-method/)

**Concepts:**

- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Revelation 1](/codex/revelation-1/)
- [Seven Churches of Asia](/codex/seven-churches-of-asia/), via [Revelation 1.12-20](/codex/revelation-1-12-20/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G3466 - mysterion](/codex/g3466-mysterion/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.