21 Then I saw a new sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea.(A)
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband;
3 Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.(B)
4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.(C)
5 And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine).(D)
6 And He [further] said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I [Myself] will give water without price from the fountain (springs) of the water of Life.(E)
7 He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son.
8 But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)—[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.(F)
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues (afflictions, calamities) came and spoke to me. He said, Come with me! I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 Then in the Spirit He conveyed me away to a vast and lofty mountain and exhibited to me the holy (hallowed, consecrated) city of Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God,(G)
11 Clothed in God’s glory [in all its splendor and radiance]. The luster of it resembled a rare and most precious jewel, like jasper, shining clear as crystal.
12 It had a massive and high wall with twelve [large] gates, and at the gates [there were stationed] twelve angels, and [on the gates] the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were written:(H)
13 On the east side three gates, on the north side three gates, on the south side three gates, and on the west side three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation [stones], and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he who spoke to me had a golden measuring reed (rod) to measure the city and its gates and its wall.(I)
16 The city lies in a square, its length being the same as its width. And he measured the city with his reed—12,000 stadia (about 1,500 miles); its length and width and height are the same.
17 He measured its wall also—144 cubits (about 72 yards) by a man’s measure [of a cubit from his elbow to his third fingertip], which is [the measure] of the angel.
18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city [itself was of] pure gold, clear and transparent like glass.
19 The foundation [stones] of the wall of the city were ornamented with all of the precious stones. The first foundation [stone] was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony (or white agate), the fourth emerald,(J)
20 The fifth onyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each separate gate being built of one solid pearl. And the main street (the broadway) of the city was of gold as pure and translucent as glass.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Omnipotent [Himself] and the Lamb [Himself] are its temple.
23 And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the splendor and radiance (glory) of God illuminate it, and the Lamb is its lamp.(K)
24 The nations shall walk by its light and the rulers and leaders of the earth shall bring into it their glory.
25 And its gates shall never be closed by day, and there shall be no night there.(L)
26 They shall bring the glory (the splendor and majesty) and the honor of the nations into it.
27 But nothing that defiles or profanes or is unwashed shall ever enter it, nor anyone who commits abominations (unclean, detestable, morally repugnant things) or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Footnotes
- Revelation 21:1
- Revelation 21:1
- Revelation 21:17
- Revelation 21:27
Cross references
- Revelation 21:1 : Isa. 65:17; 66:22.
- Revelation 21:3 : Ezek. 37:27.
- Revelation 21:4 : Isa. 25:8; 35:10.
- Revelation 21:5 : Isa. 43:19.
- Revelation 21:6 : Isa. 55:1.
- Revelation 21:8 : Isa. 30:33.
- Revelation 21:10 : Ezek. 40:2.
- Revelation 21:12 : Exod. 28:21; Ezek. 48:30-35.
- Revelation 21:15 : Ezek. 40:5.
- Revelation 21:19 : Isa. 54:11, 12.
- Revelation 21:23 : Isa. 24:23; 60:1, 19.
- Revelation 21:25 : Isa. 60:11.
