1I 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)2I 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.3I 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)5He 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.’6He 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!7Those who have victory will receive all this from me. I will be their God, and they will be my children.8But 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
9One 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.’10Then 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.11It shone with the glory of God. It gleamed like a very valuable jewel. It was like a jasper, as clear as crystal.12The 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.13There were three gates on the east and three on the north. There were three gates on the south and three on the west.14The wall of the city had 12 foundations. Written on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.15The angel who talked with me had a gold measuring rod. He used it to measure the city, its gates and its walls.16The 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.17The angel measured the wall as human beings measure things. It was 70 metres thick.18The wall was made out of jasper. The city was made out of pure gold, as pure as glass.19The 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.20The 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.21The 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.22I didn’t see a temple in the city. That’s because the Lamb and the Lord God who rules over all are its temple.23The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it. God’s glory is its light, and the Lamb is its lamp.24The nations will walk by the light of the city. The kings of the world will bring their glory into it.25Its gates will never be shut, because there will be no night there.26The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it.27Only 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.
Revelation 21
English Standard Version
The New Heaven and the New Earth
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22; 2Pe 3:13; Re 20:11)2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Isa 52:1; Isa 61:10; Joh 14:3; Heb 11:10; Re 3:12; Re 11:2; Re 19:7; Re 22:19)3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[1] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[2] and God himself will be with them as their God.[3] (Le 26:11; Re 7:15)4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Isa 35:10; Isa 51:11; Isa 65:19; 1Co 15:26; Re 7:17; Re 20:14)5And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (2Co 5:17; 1Ti 1:15; Re 3:14; Re 4:2; Re 4:9; Re 5:1; Re 19:11; Re 20:11; Re 22:6)6And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Joh 4:10; Joh 7:37; Re 1:8; Re 10:6; Re 22:13; Re 22:17)7The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (2Co 6:18; Re 2:7; Re 21:3)8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Lu 12:46; 1Co 6:9; Ga 5:19; Eph 5:5; 1Ti 1:9; Heb 12:14; Re 2:11; Re 19:20; Re 20:6; Re 20:14; Re 22:15)
The New Jerusalem
9Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” (Re 15:1; Re 17:1; Re 21:2)10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, (Ps 87:1; Eze 40:2; Eze 43:5; Re 17:3)11having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. (Ps 84:11; Eze 43:2; Eze 43:4; Mt 5:14; Php 2:15; Re 4:3; Re 4:6; Re 21:23; Re 22:5)12It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— (Eze 48:31)13on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Mt 16:18; 1Co 3:11; Eph 2:20; Heb 11:10)15And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. (Re 11:1)16The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.[4] Its length and width and height are equal.17He also measured its wall, 144 cubits[5] by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. (De 3:11; Re 13:18; Re 21:9)18The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. (Re 21:11)19The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, (Isa 54:11)20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. (Re 22:2)22And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Joh 4:23)23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Isa 60:19; Re 21:11; Re 21:25; Re 22:5)24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, (Isa 60:3; Isa 60:5; Isa 60:16; Re 21:26; Re 22:2)25and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. (Isa 60:11; Re 21:23)26They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Isa 35:8; Isa 52:1; Eze 44:9; Joe 3:17; Zec 14:21; Re 3:5; Re 22:14)