The New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues(A) came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride,(B) the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away(C) in the Spirit(D) to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.(E) 11 It shone with the glory of God,(F) and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper,(G) clear as crystal.(H) 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates,(I) and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.(J) 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations,(K) and on them were the names of the twelve apostles(L) of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod(M) of gold to measure the city, its gates(N) and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[a] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human(O) measurement, and it was 144 cubits[b] thick.[c] 18 The wall was made of jasper,(P) and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.(Q) 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.(R) The first foundation was jasper,(S) the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby,(T) the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[d] 21 The twelve gates(U) were twelve pearls,(V) each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.(W)

22 I did not see a temple(X) in the city, because the Lord God Almighty(Y) and the Lamb(Z) are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God(AA) gives it light,(AB) and the Lamb(AC) is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.(AD) 25 On no day will its gates(AE) ever be shut,(AF) for there will be no night there.(AG) 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.(AH) 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,(AI) but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.(AJ)

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 21:16 That is, about 1,400 miles or about 2,200 kilometers
  2. Revelation 21:17 That is, about 200 feet or about 65 meters
  3. Revelation 21:17 Or high
  4. Revelation 21:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.

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