Revelation 21:1-4

A New Heaven and a New Earth

21:1 Then ¹  I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, ²  and the sea existed no more. 21:2 And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence ³  of God is among human beings. ⁴  He ⁵  will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. ⁶  21:4 He ⁷  will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” ⁸ 

Revelation 21:9-11

The New Jerusalem Descends

21:9 Then ⁹  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, ¹⁰  saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!” 21:10 So ¹¹  he took me away in the Spirit ¹²  to a huge, majestic mountain ¹³  and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 21:11 The city possesses ¹⁴  the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. ¹⁵ 

[21:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:1]  ² tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”

[21:3]  ³ tn Or “dwelling place”; traditionally, “tabernacle”; literally “tent.”

[21:3]  ⁴ tn Or “people”; Grk “men” (ἀνθρώπων, anqrwpwn), a generic use of the term. In the translation “human beings” was used here because “people” occurs later in the verse and translates a different Greek word (λαοί, laoi).

[21:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “men, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[21:3]  ⁶ tc ‡ Most mss (א Ï^K) do not add the words “[as] their God” (αὐτῶν θεός, autwn qeos) after “he will be with them.” The mss with these words include A 2030 2050 2329 al. The Andreas group (Ï^A) also has the words, but in a different arrangement with the preceding (ἔσται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν θεὸς αὐτῶν, estai met’ autwn qeo" autwn). Not only do the words float, but scribes may have been motivated to make a connection here more directly with Isa 7:14; 8:8; Jer 24:7; 31:33; Zech 8:8. In light of sufficient external evidence as well as the possibility that the longer reading is theologically motivated, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[21:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[21:4]  ⁸ tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”

[21:9]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[21:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.

[21:10]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation.

[21:10]  ¹² 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).

[21:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “to a mountain great and high.”

[21:11]  ¹⁴ 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.

[21:11]  ¹⁵ 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.”