² Then I, ^[a]John, saw ^(A)the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared ^(B)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, ^(C)the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ^4 (D)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; ^(E)there shall be no more death, ^(F)nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ Then ^(G)He who sat on the throne said, ^(H)“Behold, I make all things new.” And He said ^[b]to me, “Write, for ^(I)these words are true and faithful.”

⁶ And He said to me, ^(J)“It^[c] is done! ^(K)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. ^(L)I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes ^[d]shall inherit all things, and ^(M)I will be his God and he shall be My son. ^8 (N)But the cowardly, ^[e]unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in ^(O)the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem^(P)

⁹ Then one of ^(Q)the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came ^[f]to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(R)the ^[g]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away ^(S)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me ^(T)the ^[h]great city, the ^[i]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ^11 (U)having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² Also she had a great and high wall with ^(V)twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ^13 (W)three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and ^(X)on them were the ^[j]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And he who talked with me ^(Y)had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand ^[k]furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. ¹⁷ Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. ¹⁸ The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ^19 (Z)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve ^(AA)pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. ^(AB)And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

^22 (AC)But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ^23 (AD)The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine ^[l]in it, for the ^[m]glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. ^24 (AE)And the nations ^[n]of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor ^[o]into it. ^25 (AF)Its gates shall not be shut at all by day ^(AG)(there shall be no night there). ^26 (AH)And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into ^[p]it. ²⁷ But ^(AI)there shall by no means enter it anything ^[q]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s ^(AJ)Book of Life.

²⁶ but the ^(A)Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

God’s Covenant with David^(A)

7 Now it came to pass ^(B)when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, ² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in ^(C)a house of cedar, ^(D)but the ark of God dwells inside tent ^(E)curtains.”

³ Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your ^(F)heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵ “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(G)“Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? ⁶ For I have not dwelt in a house ^(H)since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in ^(I)a tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷ Wherever I have ^(J)moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^(K)to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ ⁸ Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(L)“I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. ⁹ And ^(M)I have been with you wherever you have gone, ^(N)and have ^[a]cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ¹⁰ Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will ^(O)plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; ^(P)nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ^11 (Q)since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord ^[b]tells you ^(R)that He will make you a ^[c]house.

^12 (S)“When your days are fulfilled and you ^(T)rest with your fathers, ^(U)I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13 (V)He shall build a house for My name, and I will ^(W)establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14 (X)I will be his Father, and he shall be ^(Y)My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the ^[d]blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But My mercy shall not depart from him, ^(Z)as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ And ^(AA)your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before ^[e]you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁷ According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Thanksgiving to God^(AB)

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: ^(AC)“Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. ^(AD)Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? ²⁰ Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord God, ^(AE)know Your servant. ²¹ For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. ²² Therefore ^(AF)You are great, ^[f]O Lord God. For ^(AG)there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ^(AH)ears. ²³ And who is like Your people, like Israel, ^(AI)the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before ^(AJ)Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? ²⁴ For ^(AK)You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; ^(AL)and You, Lord, have become their God.

²⁵ “Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. ²⁶ So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁷ For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

²⁸ “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and ^(AM)Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁹ Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed ^(AN)forever.”