21:15 The angel 9 who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 21:16 Now 10 the city is laid out as a square, 11 its length and width the same. He 12 measured the city with the measuring rod 13 at fourteen hundred miles 14 (its length and width and height are equal). 21:17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits 15 according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s. 16
1 tn Grk “jasper, having.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.
2 tn Grk “a (city) wall great and high.”
3 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.”
4 tn Grk “of the sons of Israel.” The translation “nation of Israel” is given in L&N 11.58.
5 tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the gates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 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.
7 tn The word “side” has been supplied four times in this verse for clarity.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the angel of v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the description of the city.
11 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.”
12 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
13 tn Grk “with the rod”; the word “measuring” is supplied from the description in v. 15.
14 tn Or “two thousand two hundred kilometers,” Grk “12,000 stades.” A stade was a measure of length about 607 ft (185 m).
15 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).
16 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.