Book of Common Prayer

⁹ Then one of the seven angels who carried the seven bowls full of the last troubles came and talked to me. He said, `Come, I will show you the young woman who is the wife of the Lamb.'

¹⁰ The angel took me away in the Spirit to a very big hill. He showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God.

¹¹ The light of God was shining from it. It was bright like a very fine stone called jasper. It was as clear as glass.

¹² The city had a wall that was big and high. It had twelve doors. At the doors were twelve angels. Names were written on the doors. They are the names of the twelve tribes of the people of Israel.

¹³ There were three doors on the east side. There were three doors on the north side. There were three doors on the south side and three doors on the west side.

¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones. On them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ The angel who talked to me had a gold stick to measure the city, its doors, and its walls.

¹⁶ The city is square. It is as long as it is wide. The angel measured the city with his stick and it was about fifteen hundred miles. It is as long as it is wide and as high as it is long.

¹⁷ Then he measured its wall. It was two hundred and sixteen feet by the way a man measures. That is the way the angel measured.

¹⁸ The wall of the city was made of a very fine stone called jasper. The city was all made of pure gold. It was clear like glass.

¹⁹ The bottom of the city wall was covered with all kinds of fine stones. The first stone was red jasper. The second stone was blue sapphire. The third stone was of many colours called agate. The fourth stone was green emerald.

²⁰ The fifth stone was onyx. The sixth stone was red carnelian. The seventh stone was green crysolite. The eighth stone was green beryl. The ninth stone was yellow topaz. The tenth stone was green chrysoprase. The eleventh stone was red jacinth. And the twelfth stone was a blue amethyst.

²¹ The twelve doors were twelve pearls. Each door was made from one big pearl. The street of the city was all pure gold. It was as clear as glass.

²² They were travelling in Galilee. Jesus said to his disciples, `The Son of Man will be given over to men.

²⁴ They will kill him. But he will be raised on the third day.' This troubled the disciples very much.

²⁵ They came to Capernaum. There the men who were collecting the tax for the temple came to Peter. They asked him, `Does not your teacher pay the tax for the temple?'

²⁶ Peter said, `Yes, he does.' When he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him about it first. He said, `Simon, what do you think? From whom do kings on earth take taxes? Do they take them from their own people or from other people?'

²⁷ Peter said, `From other people.' Jesus said, `Then the sons do not pay a tax.