< Revelation 21 >
1 Then [in the vision] I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and the oceans no longer existed.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more.
2 I saw [God’s] holy city, which is the new [city of] Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. [The city] had been prepared [and decorated] {[God] had prepared [and decorated the city]} as [SIM] a bride is decorated {decorates herself} [beautifully in order to marry] her husband.
And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 I heard a loud voice that spoke from the throne [of God]. It said, “Listen to this! Now God will live with people. He will live [right in the midst of] them [DOU]! They will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.
And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people; and God himself with them shall be their God.
4 [As a result], he will [cause them to no longer be sad. It will be as though he will] [MTY] wipe every tear from their eyes. [None of them] will ever again die or mourn or cry [DOU] or suffer pain, because the former things [that make us sad] will have disappeared.”
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.
5 Then [God], who sits on the throne, said, “Listen to this! I am [now] making everything new!” He said [to me]: “Write these things [that I have told you], because you can trust [that I will certainly cause them to happen].”
And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.
6 He said to me, “I have finished [doing all the things I needed to do]. I am the one who began all things [MET] and the one who will cause all things to end [MET]. To everyone who is [spiritually] thirsty [MET], I will (freely give/give as a free gift) water from the spring [that causes people] to live [forever].
And he said to me: It is done. I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely.
7 I will give this to every person who is victorious over [the evil powers] (OR, [over Satan]). I will be their God, and they will be my children.
He that shall overcome shall possess these things, and I will be his God; and he shall be my son.
8 But those who are cowardly, those who do not believe [in me], those [who do] detestable things, those who are murderers, those who sin sexually, those who commit sorcery, those who worship idols, and every liar, will [all suffer] in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. [Anyone who suffers in that lake] will be dying the second time.” (Limnē Pyr )
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Limnē Pyr )
9 One of the seven angels who had one of the seven bowls that had been full of [the wine/liquid causing] [MTY] the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come [with me] and I will show you [the people who have permanently united with Christ, the one who is like a] lamb! They will be [like] [MET] a bride [for him].”
And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
10 Then, while [God’s] Spirit [controlled me], the angel took/carried me to the top of a very high mountain. He showed me [God’s] holy city, [the New] Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God.
And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
11 It was shining with his glory. The city was shining like a very precious jasper stone [shines, and] it was clear like crystal.
Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone, even as crystal.
12 [Around the city] was a very high wall. The wall had twelve gates. An angel was at each gate. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written {[God] had written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel} over the gates. [Each gate had the name of one tribe].
And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
13 Three gates were on the east [side], three gates were on the north [side], three gates were on the south [side], and three gates were on the west [side].
On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates.
14 The wall of the city had twelve foundation [stones]. On each foundation [stone was] the name of one of the twelve apostles of [Jesus, the one who is like a] lamb.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who was speaking to me carried a golden measuring rod, in order to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
And he that spoke with me, had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall.
16 The city was square [in shape]; it was as long as it was wide. After the angel measured the city with his rod, [he reported that it was] (1,500 miles/2,400 kilometers) long, and that its height was the same as [its length and width].
And the city lieth in a foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal.
17 He measured its wall [and reported that it was] ([216 ft./70 meters]) [thick] (OR, [high]). The angel used the measure that people [normally use].
And he measured the wall thereof an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel.
18 The [city] wall was made of [something like the green stone that we call] jasper. The city [itself] was [made of something like] pure gold [that looked] like clear glass.
And the building of the wall thereof was of jasper stone: but the city itself pure gold, like to clear glass.
19 The foundations of the wall of the city were beautifully made with [wonderful stones that are like] precious stones [on earth]. The first foundation [stone was a crystalline stone like] jasper, the second [foundation stone was a blue stone like] sapphire, the third [foundation stone was a green stone like] agate, the fourth [foundation stone was a green stone like] emerald,
And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third, a chalcedony: the fourth, an emerald:
20 the fifth [foundation stone was a brown and white layered stone like] sardonyx, the sixth [foundation stone was a red stone like] carnelian, the seventh [foundation stone was a yellow stone like] chrysolite, the eighth [foundation stone was a green stone like] beryl, the ninth [foundation stone was a yellow stone like] topaz, the tenth [foundation stone was a green stone like] chrysoprase, the eleventh [foundation stone was a blue stone like] hyacinth, and the twelfth [foundation stone was a purple stone like] amethyst.
The fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 The twelve gates [of the city] were [something like huge] pearls. Each gate was like [it was] a single pearl. The [ground of] the main plaza of the city (OR, The streets of the city) [appeared to be] pure gold [that looked] like clear glass.
And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 There was no temple in the city. The Lord God Almighty [himself], and the [one who is like a] lamb, are [there, so there was no need for] [MET] a temple.
And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb.
23 The city will not need the sun or the moon to light the city, because the glory of God will illuminate the city, and [Jesus, the one who is like a] lamb, will also be its light.
And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof.
24 The people of [MTY] the nations will live with the light of the city [shining upon them]. And the kings of the earth will bring their wealth into the city [to honor God and the one who is like a lamb].
And the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it.
25 The gates of the city will not be shut {No one will shut the gates of the city} [at the end of each day as they usually are shut], because there will be no night there.
And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 The [people of the] world will also bring their wealth into the city to honor [God and the one who is like a lamb].
And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 No one who is morally impure, no one who does things [that God considers] detestable, and no one who tells lies, will ever enter that city. Only those people whose names are written in the book of the [one who is like a] lamb {whose [names] the [one who is like a] lamb has written in his book}, [the names] of people who have [eternal] life, will be there.
There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.