A new heaven and a new earth
1Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’21:1 Isaiah 65:17 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death”21:4 Isaiah 25:8 or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’
5He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
6He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.’
The new Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb
9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia21:16 That is, about 2,200 kilometres in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits21:17 That is, about 65 metres thick.21:17 Or high 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.21:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain. 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
1I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.” (Isaiah 65:17) The first heaven and the first earth were completely gone. There was no longer any sea. 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.’ (Isaiah 25:8) 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.”
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 sulfur. 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 practice 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 200 feet 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 honor 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.
