Text -- Revelation 22:1-12 (NET)

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life– water as clear as crystal– pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 22:2 flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. 22:3 And there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him, 22:4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 22:5 Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

A Final Reminder

22:6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are reliable and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.” 22:7 (Look! I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy expressed in this book.) 22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them, I threw myself down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. 22:9 But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship God!” 22:10 Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this book, because the time is near. 22:11 The evildoer must continue to do evil, and the one who is morally filthy must continue to be filthy. The one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy.” 22:12 (Look! I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 22:1

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “proceeding.” Water is more naturally thought to pour out or flow out in English idiom.

NET Notes: Rev 22:2

¹ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).

³ tn Grk “From here and from there.”

⁴ tn Or “twelve crops” (one for each month of the year).

⁵ tn The words “of the year” are implied.

NET Notes: Rev 22:3

¹ tn Or “be anything accursed” (L&N 33.474).

² tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “city, and his.” Although this is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, a new sentence was started here in the translation because of the introduction of the Lamb’s followers.

⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

⁵ tn Or “will serve.”

NET Notes: Rev 22:6

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15; 22:1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “faithful.”

⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

NET Notes: Rev 22:7

¹ sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator.

NET Notes: Rev 22:8

¹ tn Or “I am John, the one who heard and saw these things.”

² tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

³ tn Grk “I fell down and worshiped at the feet.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

NET Notes: Rev 22:9

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

² tn On the elliptical expression ὅρα μή ({ora mh) BDAG 720 s.v. ὁράω B.2 states: “Elliptically…ὅρα μή (sc. ποιήσῃς) watch out! don’t do that! Rv 19:10; 22:9.”

³ tn Grk “fellow slave.” Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) is here translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

⁴ tn Grk “keep” (an idiom for obedience).

NET Notes: Rev 22:10

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

NET Notes: Rev 22:11

¹ tn Grk “must do evil still.”

² tn For this translation see L&N 88.258; the term refers to living in moral filth.

³ tn Grk “filthy, and the.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started in the translation.

NET Notes: Rev 22:12

¹ tn The Greek term may be translated either “pay” or “pay back” and has something of a double meaning here. However, because of the mention of “wages” (“reward,” another wordplay with two meanings) in the previous clause, the translation “pay” for ἀποδοῦναι (apodounai) was used here.