48:30 “These are the exits of the city: On the north side, one and one-half miles 1 by measure, 48:31 the gates of the city 2 will be named for the tribes of Israel; there will be three gates to the north: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi. 48:32 On the east side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan. 48:33 On the south side, one and one-half miles by measure, there will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. 48:34 On the west side, one and one-half miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. 48:35 The circumference of the city will be six miles. 3 The name of the city from that day forward will be: ‘The Lord Is There.’” 4
21:15 The angel 19 who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 21:16 Now 20 the city is laid out as a square, 21 its length and width the same. He 22 measured the city with the measuring rod 23 at fourteen hundred miles 24 (its length and width and height are equal). 21:17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits 25 according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s. 26 21:18 The city’s 27 wall is made 28 of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. 29 21:19 The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated 30 with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, 31 the fourth emerald, 21:20 the fifth onyx, 32 the sixth carnelian, 33 the seventh chrysolite, 34 the eighth beryl, 35 the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, 36 the eleventh jacinth, 37 and the twelfth amethyst. 21:21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls – each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The 38 main street 39 of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
21:22 Now 40 I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God – the All-Powerful 41 – and the Lamb are its temple. 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb.
1 tn Heb “four thousand five hundred cubits” (i.e., 2.36 kilometers); the phrase occurs again in vv. 32-34.
2 sn See Rev 21:12-14.
3 tn Heb “eighteen thousand cubits” (i.e., 9.45 kilometers).
4 sn See Rev 21:12-21.
5 sn The meaning of the statement the Jerusalem above is free is that the other woman represents the second covenant (cf. v. 24); she corresponds to the Jerusalem above that is free. Paul’s argument is very condensed at this point.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation.
7 tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).
8 tn Grk “to a mountain great and high.”
9 tn Grk “from God, having the glory of God.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “the city” to refer back to the previous clause and translating the participle (“having”) as a finite verb.
10 tn On the term ἰάσπιδι (iaspidi) BDAG 465 s.v. ἴασπις states, “jasper, a precious stone found in various colors, mostly reddish, somet. green…brown, blue, yellow, and white. In antiquity the name was not limited to the variety of quartz now called jasper, but could designate any opaque precious stone. Rv 21:18f. W. λίθος 4:3 (TestSol C 11:8). λίθος ἴασπις κρυσταλλίζων a stone of crystal-clear jasper 21:11 (cp. Is 54:12); perh. the opal is meant here; acc. to some, the diamond.”
11 tn Grk “jasper, having.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.
12 tn Grk “a (city) wall great and high.”
13 tn On this term BDAG 897 s.v. πυλών 1 states, “gate, esp. of the large, impressive gateways at the entrance of temples and palaces…of the entrances of the heavenly Jerusalem…οἱ πυλῶνες αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ κλεισθῶσιν its entrances shall never be shut Rv 21:25; cp. vss. 12ab, 13abcd, 15, 21ab; 22:14.”
14 tn Grk “of the sons of Israel.” The translation “nation of Israel” is given in L&N 11.58.
15 tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the gates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn The words “There are” have been supplied to make a complete English sentence. This is a continuation of the previous sentence, a lengthy and complicated one in Greek.
17 tn The word “side” has been supplied four times in this verse for clarity.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the angel of v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the description of the city.
21 tn Or “the city lies square.” On κεῖμαι (keimai) in this context, BDAG 537 s.v. 2 states, “lie, of things…ἡ πόλις τετράγωνος κεῖται is laid out as a square Rv 21:16.”
22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23 tn Grk “with the rod”; the word “measuring” is supplied from the description in v. 15.
24 tn Or “two thousand two hundred kilometers,” Grk “12,000 stades.” A stade was a measure of length about 607 ft (185 m).
25 tn Here the measurement was kept in cubits in the translation because of the possible symbolic significance of the number 144 (12 times 12). This is about 216 ft (65 m).
26 tn Here L&N 81.1 translate the phrase μέτρον ἀνθρώπου, ὅ ἐστιν ἀγγέλου (metron anqrwpou, {o estin angelou) “‘the unit of measurement used by a person, that is, by an angel’ Re 21:17.” It is more likely that μέτρον is an accusative of respect or reference.
27 tn Grk “and its wall”; the referent of the pronoun (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
28 tn The phrase ἡ ἐνδώμησις τοῦ τείχους (Jh endwmhsi" tou teicou") is difficult to translate precisely. BDAG 334 s.v. ἐνδώμησις states, “primary mng. ‘interior structure’; in our lit. prob.=construction, hence material τοῦ τείχους Rv 21:18.” The phrase could then be translated, “the foundation of the city wall was jasper” or “the material used for the wall of the city was jasper.” The latter alternative has been used in the translation because the text goes on to discuss the foundation in 21:19 (using the term θεμέλιος [qemelios]), which is somewhat redundant if the foundation is mentioned here.
29 tn Or “transparent crystal.” See L&N 6.222, which notes the emphasis is on transparency here. The same Greek word, καθαρός (kaqaros), means both “pure” (referring to the gold) and “transparent” (referring to the glass).
30 tn The perfect participle here has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect.
31 sn Agate (also called chalcedony) is a semiprecious stone usually milky or gray in color (L&N 2.32).
32 sn Onyx (also called sardonyx) is a semiprecious stone that comes in various colors (L&N 2.35).
33 sn Carnelian is a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).
34 sn Chrysolite refers to either quartz or topaz, golden yellow in color (L&N 2.37).
35 sn Beryl is a semiprecious stone, usually blue-green or green in color (L&N 2.38).
36 sn Chrysoprase is a greenish type of quartz (L&N 2.40).
37 sn Jacinth is a semiprecious stone, probably blue in color (also called “hyacinth,” but that translation is not used here because of possible confusion with the flower of the same name). See L&N 2.41.
38 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
39 tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).
40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Every verse from here to the end of this chapter begins with καί in Greek, but due to differences between Greek and contemporary English style, these have not been translated.
41 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”