(A)Then one of the seven angels who had the (B)seven bowls, [a]full of the (C)seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “(D)Come here, I will show you the (E)bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

The New Jerusalem

10 And (F)he carried me away [b](G)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me (H)the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having (I)the glory of God. Her [c]brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a (J)stone of (K)crystal-clear jasper. 12 [d]It had a great and high wall, [e](L)with twelve (M)gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had (N)twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the (O)twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The one who spoke with me had a [f]gold measuring (P)rod to measure the city, its (Q)gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the [g]rod, [h]twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, [i]144 cubits, by (R)human [j]measurements, which are also (S)angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was (T)jasper; and the city was (U)pure gold, like [k]clear (V)glass. 19 (W)The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was (X)jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, (Y)emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, (Z)sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve (AA)gates were twelve (AB)pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was (AC)pure gold, like transparent (AD)glass.

22 I saw (AE)no [l]temple in it, for the (AF)Lord God the Almighty and the (AG)Lamb are its [m]temple. 23 And the city (AH)has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for (AI)the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the (AJ)Lamb. 24 (AK)The nations will walk by its light, and the (AL)kings of the earth [n]will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for (AM)there will be no night there) (AN)its gates (AO)will never be closed; 26 and (AP)they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and (AQ)nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those [o]whose names are (AR)written in the Lamb’s book of life.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 21:9 Lit who were full; i.e., (previously) loaded with
  2. Revelation 21:10 Or in spirit
  3. Revelation 21:11 Or radiance
  4. Revelation 21:12 Lit having
  5. Revelation 21:12 Lit having
  6. Revelation 21:15 Lit measure, a gold reed
  7. Revelation 21:16 Lit reed
  8. Revelation 21:16 Possibly about 1,380 miles or 2,220 km; a Roman stadion perhaps averaged 607 ft. or 185 m
  9. Revelation 21:17 Possibly about 216 ft. or 65 m; a cubit is about 18 in. or 45 cm
  10. Revelation 21:17 Lit measure
  11. Revelation 21:18 Lit pure
  12. Revelation 21:22 Or sanctuary
  13. Revelation 21:22 Or sanctuary
  14. Revelation 21:24 Lit bring
  15. Revelation 21:27 Lit who have been written

The Vision of the New Jerusalem

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said, “Come! I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.” 10 He carried me away in the Spirit to a large, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. 11 The glory of God was its radiance, and its light was like a valuable gem, like jasper, as clear as crystal. 12 It had a large, high wall with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the lamb were written on them.

15 The angel who[a] was talking to me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. 16 The city was cubic in shape: its length was the same as its width. He measured the city with his rod, and it measured at 12,000 stadia:[b]Its length, width, and height were the same. 17 He also measured its wall. According to the human measurement that the angel was using, it was 144 cubits.[c] 18 Its wall was made of jasper. The city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass.

19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with all kinds of gems: The first foundation[d] was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian,[e] the seventh chrysolite,[f] the eighth beryl,[g] the ninth topaz,[h] the tenth chrysoprase,[i] the eleventh jacinth[j] and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each gate was made of a single pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass.

22 I saw no temple in it, because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its temple. 23 The city doesn’t need any sun or moon to give it light, because the glory of God gave it light, and the lamb was its lamp. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut at the end of the[k] day—because there will be no night there. 26 People[l] will bring the glory and wealth[m] of the nations into it. 27 Nothing unclean, or anyone who does anything detestable, and no one who tells lies will ever enter it. Only those whose names[n] are written in the lamb’s Book of Life will enter it.[o]

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 21:15 Lit. The one who
  2. Revelation 21:16 I.e. about 1,454 miles long ; one Roman stadion was about 640 feet
  3. Revelation 21:17 I.e. about 84 yards, if a royal cubit (about 21 inches long) is intended; because height, thickness, or width is not specified, since the city structure is three-dimensional, the wall may be a shell that is 144 cubits thick, enclosing the entire structure
  4. Revelation 21:19 The Gk. lacks foundation
  5. Revelation 21:20 Or olivine; i.e. an olive-green mineral commonly found in igneous rocks
  6. Revelation 21:20 I.e. a bright green variety of chalcedony, a transparent silica quartz
  7. Revelation 21:20 I.e. an aluminum silicate varying in color from blue, rose, white, and golden, in both opaque and transparent varieties, including emerald and aquamarine
  8. Revelation 21:20 I.e. a bright yellow (but occasionally blue, green, brown, pink, or colorless) aluminum silicate variety of sapphire or corundum, and serving as the second stone in the first row in the high priest’s breast plate (cf. Exod 28:17)
  9. Revelation 21:20 I.e. a bright green variety of chalcedony, a transparent silica quartz
  10. Revelation 21:20 I.e. a red or cinnamon-colored variety of transparent zircon; sometimes also colored deep purple, blue, or violet and serving as the first stone in row three of the high priest’s breast plate (cf. Exod 28:19)
  11. Revelation 21:25 Lit. shut by
  12. Revelation 21:26 Lit. They
  13. Revelation 21:26 Or honor
  14. Revelation 21:27 Lit. those who
  15. Revelation 21:27 The Gk. lacks will enter it