Revelation 21:12-17

Context
21:12 It has¹ a massive, high wall² with twelve gates,³ with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel⁴ are written on the gates.⁵ 21:13 There are⁶ three gates on the east side, three gates on the north side, three gates on the south side and three gates on the west side.⁷ 21:14 The⁸ wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

21:15 The angel⁹ who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 21:16 Now¹⁰ the city is laid out as a square,¹¹ its length and width the same. He¹² measured the city with the measuring rod¹³ at fourteen hundred miles¹⁴ (its length and width and height are equal). 21:17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits¹⁵ according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s.¹⁶

[21:12] ¹tn Grk “jasper, having.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.

[21:12] ²tn Grk “a (city) wall great and high.”

[21:12] ³tn 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.”

[21:12] ⁴tn Grk “of the sons of Israel.” The translation “nation of Israel” is given in L&N 11.58.

[21:12] ⁵tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the gates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:13] ⁶tn 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.

[21:13] ⁷tn The word “side” has been supplied four times in this verse for clarity.

[21:14] ⁸tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:15] ⁹tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the angel of v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:16] ¹⁰tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the somewhat parenthetical nature of the description of the city.

[21:16] ¹¹tn 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.”

[21:16] ¹²tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[21:16] ¹³tn Grk “with the rod”; the word “measuring” is supplied from the description in v. 15.

[21:16] ¹⁴tn Or “two thousand two hundred kilometers,” Grk “12,000 stades.” A stade was a measure of length about 607 ft (185 m).

[21:17] ¹⁵tn 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).

[21:17] ¹⁶tn 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.