Revelation 22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The River of Life
22 Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb(A) 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.(B) 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him;(C) 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.(D) 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.(E)
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”(F)
7 “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”(G)
Epilogue and Benediction
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”(H)
12 “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.(I) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,[c] so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral[d] and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.(J)
16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”(K)
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.(L)
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book;(M) 19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!(N)
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.[e]
Revelation 22
Common English Bible
22 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,[a] shining like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb 2 through the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life, which produces twelve crops of fruit, bearing its fruit each month. The tree’s leaves are for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more. They won’t need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine on them, and they will rule forever and always.
Jesus is coming soon
6 Then he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.
7 “Look! I’m coming soon. Favored is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy contained in this scroll.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I’m a servant just like you and your brothers and sisters, the prophets, and those who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” 10 Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this scroll, because the time is near. 11 Let those who do wrong keep doing what is wrong. Let the filthy still be filthy. Let those who are righteous keep doing what is right. Let those who are holy still be holy.
12 “Look! I’m coming soon. My reward is with me, to repay all people as their actions deserve. 13 I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Favored are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right of access to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the drug users and spell-casters, those who commit sexual immorality, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to bear witness to all of you about these things for the churches. I’m the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star. 17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who is thirsty come! Let the one who wishes receive life-giving water[b] as a gift.”
18 Now I bear witness to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this scroll: If anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues that are written in this scroll. 19 If anyone takes away from the words of this scroll of prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this scroll.
20 The one who bears witness to these things says, “Yes, I’m coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:1 Or the water of life
- Revelation 22:17 Or the water of life
Revelation 22
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
22 And he shewed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no curse any more; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him.
4 And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads.
5 And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said to me: These words are most faithful and true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to shew his servants the things which must be done shortly.
7 And, Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.
8 And I, John, who have heard and seen these things. And after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel, who shewed me these things.
9 And he said to me: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Adore God.
10 And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that hurteth, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still.
12 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his works.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
14 Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
15 Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and unchaste, and murderers, and servers of idols, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I Jesus have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star.
17 And the spirit and the bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come: and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely.
18 For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book.
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book.
20 He that giveth testimony of these things, saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Revelation 22
Good News Translation
22 (A)The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 (B)and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. 3 (C)Nothing that is under God's curse will be found in the city.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 [a]They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 (D)There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.
The Coming of Jesus
6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are true and can be trusted. And the Lord God, who gives his Spirit to the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon.”
7 “Listen!” says Jesus. “I am coming soon! Happy are those who obey the prophetic words in this book!”
8 I, John, have heard and seen all these things. And when I finished hearing and seeing them, I fell down at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things, and I was about to worship him. 9 But he said to me, “Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!” 10 And he said to me, “Do not keep the prophetic words of this book a secret, because the time is near when all this will happen. 11 (E)Whoever is evil must go on doing evil, and whoever is filthy must go on being filthy; whoever is good must go on doing good, and whoever is holy must go on being holy.”
12 (F)“Listen!” says Jesus. “I am coming soon! I will bring my rewards with me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13 (G)I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 (H)Happy are those who wash their robes clean and so have the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life and to go through the gates into the city. 15 But outside the city are the perverts and those who practice magic, the immoral and the murderers, those who worship idols and those who are liars both in words and deeds.
16 (I)“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended from the family of David; I am the bright morning star.”
17 (J)The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”
Everyone who hears this must also say, “Come!”
Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it.
Conclusion
18 (K)I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if any add anything to them, God will add to their punishment the plagues described in this book. 19 And if any take anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from them their share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book.
20 He who gives his testimony to all this says, “Yes indeed! I am coming soon!”
So be it. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.[b]
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:4 2Esd 7:98
- Revelation 22:21 everyone; some manuscripts have God's people; others have all of God's people.
Revelation 22
Wycliffe Bible
22 And he showed to me a river of quick water, shining as crystal, coming forth of the seat of God, and of the lamb, [And he showed to me a flood of quick water, shining as crystal, coming forth of the seat of God, and of the lamb.]
2 in the middle of the street of it. And on each side of the river, the tree of life, bringing forth twelve fruits, yielding his fruit by each month; and the leaves of the tree be to healing of folks. [In the middle of the street of it, and on each side of the flood, the tree of life, bringing forth twelve fruits, yielding his fruit by each month; and the leaves of the tree be to health of folks.]
3 And each cursed thing shall no more be; but the seats of God and of the lamb shall be in it. And the servants of him shall serve him.
4 And they shall see his face, and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.
5 And night shall no more be, and they shall not have need to the light of a lantern, neither to light of the sun; for the Lord God shall lighten them [And night shall no more be, and they shall not have need to light of lantern, neither to light of the sun; for the Lord God shall light them], and they shall reign into worlds of worlds.
6 And he said to me, These words be most faithful and true. And the Lord God of spirits of prophets sent his angel [And the Lord God of spirits prophets sent his angel], to show to his servants, what things it behooveth to be done soon.
7 And lo! I come swiftly. Blessed is he, that keepeth the words of prophecy of this book.
8 And I am John, that heard and saw these things. And after that I had heard and seen, I felled down [I fell down], to worship before the feet of the angel, that showed to me these things.
9 And he said to me, See thou, that thou do not; for I am a servant with thee [And he said to me, See that thou do not; for I am thine even-servant], and of thy brethren, prophets, and of them that keep the words of prophecy of this book; worship thou God.
10 And he said to me, Sign, or seal, thou not the words of prophecy of this book; for the time is nigh.
11 He that harmeth, harm he yet; and he that is in filths, wax he foul yet; and a just man, be justified yet [and he that is just, be he yet justified]; and the holy, be [he] hallowed yet.
12 Lo! I come soon, and my meed with me, to yield to each man after his works.
13 I am alpha and omega, the first and the last, beginning and end.
14 Blessed be they, that wash their stoles, that the power of them be in the tree of life, and enter by the gates into the city.
15 For withoutforth [shall be shut] hounds, and witches, and unchaste men, and man-quellers, and serving to idols, and each that loveth and maketh lying.
16 I Jesus sent mine angel, to witness to you these things in churches. I am the root and kin of David [I am the root and kind of David], and the shining morrow star.
17 And the Spirit and the spousess say [and the spouse, or wife, say], Come thou. And he that heareth, say, Come thou; and he that thirsteth, come; and he that will, take he freely the water of life [and he that will, take freely the water of life].
18 And I witness to each man hearing the words of prophecy of this book, if any man shall put to these things, God shall put on him the vengeances written in this book [God shall put upon him the plagues written in this book].
19 And if any man do away of the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away the part of him from the book of life, and from the holy city, and from these things that be written in this book.
20 He saith, that beareth witnessing of these things, Yea, Amen. [Lo!] I come soon. Amen. Come thou, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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2001 by Terence P. Noble