Revelation 22
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The River of Life
22 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life[a] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; 4 they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. 5 And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. 7 And behold, I am coming soon.”
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
Epilogue and Benediction
8 I John am he 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 brethren 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.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. 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,[b] that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.
18 I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.[c] Amen.
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:2 Or the Lamb. In the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, etc.
- Revelation 22:14 Other ancient authorities read do his commandments
- Revelation 22:21 Other ancient authorities omit all; others omit the saints
Revelation 22
Easy-to-Read Version
22 The angel showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal. The river flows from the throne of God and the Lamb. 2 It flows down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life is on each side of the river, and it produces fruit every month, twelve times a year. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.
3 Nothing that God judges guilty will be there in that city. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. God’s servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face. God’s name will be written on their foreheads. 5 There will never be night again. People will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God will give them light. And they will rule like kings forever and ever.
6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon: 7 ‘Listen, I am coming soon! Great blessings belong to the one who obeys the words of prophecy in this book.’”
8 I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. After I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 9 But the angel said to me, “Don’t worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers the prophets. I am a servant like all those who obey the words in this book. You should worship God!”
10 Then the angel told me, “Don’t keep secret the words of prophecy in this book. The time is near for these things to happen. 11 Let anyone who is doing wrong continue to do wrong. Let anyone who is unclean continue to be unclean. Let anyone who is doing right continue to do right. Let anyone who is holy continue to be holy.”
12 “Listen, I am coming soon! I will bring rewards with me. I will repay everyone for what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,[a] the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Great blessings belong to those who have washed their robes.[b] They will have the right to eat the food from the tree of life. They can go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside the city are all those who live like dogs—those who do evil magic, those who sin sexually, those who murder, those who worship idols, and those who love to lie and pretend to be good.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the descendant from the family of David. I am the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Everyone who hears this should also say, “Come!” All who are thirsty may come; they can have the water of life as a free gift if they want it.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds anything to these, God will give that person the plagues written about in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away that person’s share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this book.
20 Jesus is the one who says that all of this is true. Now he says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all people.
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:13 Alpha … Omega The first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, meaning the beginning and the end.
- Revelation 22:14 washed their robes Meaning that they had believed in Jesus and had been made clean from sin by his blood sacrifice. See Rev. 5:9; 7:14; Heb. 9:14; 10:14-22; Acts 22:16; 1 Jn. 1:7.
Revelation 22
New King James Version
The River of Life
22 And he showed me (A)a [a]pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 (B)In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was (C)the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were (D)for the healing of the nations. 3 And (E)there shall be no more curse, (F)but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His (G)servants shall serve Him. 4 (H)They shall see His face, and (I)His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 (J)There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor (K)light of the sun, for (L)the Lord God gives them light. (M)And they shall reign forever and ever.
The Time Is Near
6 Then he said to me, (N)“These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the [b]holy prophets (O)sent His angel to show His servants the things which must (P)shortly take place.
7 (Q)“Behold, I am coming quickly! (R)Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 Now I, John, [c]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, (S)I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 Then he said to me, (T)“See that you do not do that. [d]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 (U)And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, (V)for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him [e]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
Jesus Testifies to the Churches
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and (W)My reward is with Me, (X)to give to every one according to his work. 13 (Y)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the [f]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
14 (Z)Blessed are those who [g]do His commandments, that they may have the right (AA)to the tree of life, (AB)and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 [h]But (AC)outside are (AD)dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 (AE)“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. (AF)I am the Root and the Offspring of David, (AG)the Bright and Morning Star.”
17 And the Spirit and (AH)the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” (AI)And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
A Warning
18 [i]For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: (AJ)If anyone adds to these things, [j]God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, (AK)God[k] shall take away his part from the [l]Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
I Am Coming Quickly
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be [m]with you all. Amen.
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:1 NU, M omit pure
- Revelation 22:6 NU, M spirits of the prophets
- Revelation 22:8 NU, M am the one who heard and saw
- Revelation 22:9 NU, M omit For
- Revelation 22:11 NU, M do right
- Revelation 22:13 NU, M First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
- Revelation 22:14 NU wash their robes,
- Revelation 22:15 NU, M omit But
- Revelation 22:18 NU, M omit For
- Revelation 22:18 M may God add
- Revelation 22:19 M may God take away
- Revelation 22:19 NU, M tree of life
- Revelation 22:21 NU with all; M with all the saints
Revelation 22
Living Bible
22 And he pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, 2 coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life,[a] bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 There shall be nothing in the city that is evil; for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will be their light; and they shall reign forever and ever.
6-7 Then the angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true: ‘I am coming soon!’[b] God, who tells his prophets what the future holds, has sent his angel to tell you this will happen soon. Blessed are those who believe it and all else written in the scroll.”
8 I, John, saw and heard all these things, and fell down to worship the angel who showed them to me; 9 but again he said, “No, don’t do anything like that. I, too, am a servant of Jesus as you are, and as your brothers the prophets are, as well as all those who heed the truth stated in this book. Worship God alone.”
10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up what you have written, for the time of fulfillment is near. 11 And when that time comes, all doing wrong will do it more and more; the vile will become more vile; good men will be better; those who are holy will continue on in greater holiness.”
12 “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done. 13 I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the End, the First and Last. 14 Blessed forever are all who are washing their robes, to have the right to enter in through the gates of the city and to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life.
15 “Outside the city are those who have strayed away from God, and the sorcerers and the immoral and murderers and idolaters, and all who love to lie, and do so.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you to tell the churches all these things. I am both David’s Root and his Descendant. I am the bright Morning Star. 17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Let each one who hears them say the same, ‘Come.’ Let the thirsty one come—anyone who wants to; let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who reads this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God shall add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone subtracts any part of these prophecies, God shall take away his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City just described.
20 “He who has said all these things declares: Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:2 Trees of Life, literally, “The tree of life”—used here as a collective noun, implying plurality.
- Revelation 22:6 soon, or “suddenly,” “unexpectedly”; also in vv. 12 and 20.
Revelation 22
King James Version
22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: 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 in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are 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 the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.