Revelation 21 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished 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, 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 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

New International Reader’s Version

A new heaven and a new earth

1 I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ The first heaven and the first earth were completely gone. There was no longer any sea. (Isa 65:17) 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, ‘Look! God now makes his home with the people. He will live with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death.” And there will be no more sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be.’ (Isa 25:8) 5 He who was sitting on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down. You can trust these words. They are true.’ 6 He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water to anyone who is thirsty. The water will come from the spring of the water of life. It doesn’t cost anything! 7 Those who have victory will receive all this from me. I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But others will be thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. Those who are afraid and those who do not believe will be there. Murderers and those who make themselves impure will join them. Those who commit sexual sins and those who practise witchcraft will go there. Those who worship statues of gods and all who tell lies will be there too. The lake of fire is the second death.’

The new Jerusalem is the bride of the Lamb

9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. The bowls were filled with the seven last plagues. The angel said, ‘Come. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ 10 Then he carried me away in a vision. The Spirit took me to a huge, high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City. It was coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God. It gleamed like a very valuable jewel. It was like a jasper, as clear as crystal. 12 The city had a huge, high wall with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates, one at each of them. On the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east and three on the north. There were three gates on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had 12 foundations. Written on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who talked with me had a gold measuring rod. He used it to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square. It was as long as it was wide. The angel measured the city with the rod. It was 1,400 miles long. It was as wide and high as it was long. 17 The angel measured the wall as human beings measure things. It was 70 metres thick. 18 The wall was made out of jasper. The city was made out of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of jewel. The first foundation was made out of jasper. The second was made out of sapphire. The third was made out of agate. The fourth was made out of emerald. 20 The fifth was made out of onyx. The sixth was made out of ruby. The seventh was made out of chrysolite. The eighth was made out of beryl. The ninth was made out of topaz. The tenth was made out of turquoise. The eleventh was made out of jacinth. The twelfth was made out of amethyst. 21 The 12 gates were made from 12 pearls. Each gate was made out of a single pearl. The main street of the city was made out of gold. It was gold as pure as glass that people can see through clearly. 22 I didn’t see a temple in the city. That’s because the Lamb and the Lord God who rules over all are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it. God’s glory is its light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by the light of the city. The kings of the world will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut, because there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Only what is pure will enter the city. No one who causes people to believe lies will enter it. No one who does shameful things will enter it either. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.