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General Information:

This is the beginning of John's letter. Here he names himself as the writer and greets the people he is writing to.

May grace be to you and peace from the one who is ... and from the seven spirits ... and from Jesus Christ

This is a wish or blessing. John speaks as if these were things that God could give, although they are really ways in which he hopes God will act for his people. AT: "May he who is ... and the seven spirits ... and Jesus Christ treat you kindly and enable you to live peacefully and securely" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns)

from the one who is

"from God, who is"

who is to come

Existing in the future is spoken of as coming. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)

seven spirits

The number seven is a symbol of completeness and perfection. The "seven spirits" refers either to the Spirit of God or to seven spirits who serve God. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/writing-symlanguage)

the firstborn from the dead

"the first person to be raised from death"

from the dead

From among all those who have died. This expression describes all dead people together in the underworld. To come back from among them speaks of becoming alive again.

has released us

"has set us free"

has made us a kingdom, priests

"has set us apart and begun to rule over us and he has made us priests"

his God and Father

This is one person. AT: "God, his Father"

Father

This is an important title for God that describes the relationship between God and Jesus. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/guidelines-sonofgodprinciples)

to him be the glory and the power

This is a wish or prayer. Possible meanings are 1) "May people honor his glory and power" or 2) "May he have glory and power." John prays that Jesus Christ will be honored and will be able to rule completely over everyone and everything. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns)

the power

This probably refers to his authority as king.

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