A New Heaven and a New Earth (Isaiah 65:17–25)
2 UST I saw the city of Jerusalem, which is special to God, in a new form. It was coming down to earth from God in heaven. The city looked very beautiful, like a bride on her wedding day. BSB BSB: I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
5 UST Then God said from the throne,“Listen to this! I am now making everything new!” He also said to me,“Write these things that I have told you. You can be confident that I will certainly cause them to happen.” BSB BSB: And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
6 UST He also said to me,“I have completed all these things! I am the one who began all things and the one who will cause all things to end. To everyone who wants it, I will freely give everlasting life, as if I were giving them a drink from a spring whose water keeps people alive. BSB BSB: And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
7 UST I will give this to all who are victorious over Satan. And I will be their God, and they will be my children. BSB BSB: The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
8 UST But all the others will suffer in the lake of burning sulfur. That is what it means to die a second time. Those who are cowards will suffer this way. So will those who do not believe in me, those who do detestable things, those who murder people, those who sin sexually, those who practice witchcraft, those who worship idols, and all those who tell lies.” BSB BSB: But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem 9 UST Then an angel came to me. He was one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls of the wine that caused the seven last ways of suffering. He said to me,“Come with me. I will show you the people who will live together with the Lamb forever!” BSB BSB: Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 UST Then the Holy Spirit inspired me so that I could see and hear things in a vision. The angel took me to the top of a very high mountain. There he showed me the city that is special to God, the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. BSB BSB: And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
11 UST The city was shining with brilliant light that came from God himself. It was sparkling like a priceless jasper gemstone, and it was clear like crystal. BSB BSB: shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
12 UST A very high wall surrounded the city. The wall had twelve gates. An angel stood at each gate. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel appeared over the gates. Each gate had the name of one tribe. BSB BSB: The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.
13 UST Three gates were on the east side of the city. Three gates were on the north side. Three gates were on the south side. And three gates were on the west side. BSB BSB: There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west.
14 UST The city wall had twelve foundation stones. On each foundation stone was the name of one of the twelve apostles whom the Lamb had appointed. BSB BSB: The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 UST The angel who was speaking to me carried a golden measuring rod. He used it to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. BSB BSB: The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.
16 UST The city was square in shape, that is, it was as long as it was wide. After the angel measured the city with his rod, he reported that it was 2, 200 kilometers long and that its width and height were the same as its length. BSB BSB: The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.
17 UST He measured its wall and reported that it was 66 meters high. The angel used the measurement that people normally use. BSB BSB: And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.
18 UST The stones of the city wall were like the green stone that people call jasper. The buildings of the city were pure gold and they showed reflections the way clear glass does. BSB BSB: The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19 UST The foundations of the city wall were beautiful precious stones. Each foundation was a different stone. The first foundation stone was jasper. The second foundation stone was sapphire. The third foundation stone was chalcedony. The fourth foundation stone was emerald. BSB BSB: The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20 UST The fifth foundation stone was sardonyx. The sixth foundation stone was carnelian. The seventh foundation stone was chrysolite. The eighth foundation stone was beryl. The ninth foundation stone was topaz. The tenth foundation stone was chrysoprase. The eleventh foundation stone was jacinth. And the twelfth foundation stone was amethyst. BSB BSB: the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21 UST The twelve gates of the city were each huge pearls. Each gate was a single pearl. The city streets were pure gold and they showed reflections the way clear glass does. BSB BSB: And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.
22 UST There was no temple in the city. That was because the Lord God himself, who rules over all, and the Lamb were there. So there was no need for a temple. BSB BSB: But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 UST Now the city will not need the sun or the moon for light, because the light coming from God and from the Lamb will be all the light that it needs. BSB BSB: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 UST The way people live in the city will be an example to all of the world’ s people groups. The rulers of the earth will bring their treasures into the city to honor God and the lamb. BSB BSB: By its light the nations will walk, and into it the kings of the earth will bring their glory.
25 UST It will never be night in the city. So no one will ever shut the gates of the city as one usually does at the end of a day. BSB BSB: Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.
26 UST The people of the world will also bring their wealth into the city. BSB BSB: And into the city will be brought the glory and honor of the nations.
27 UST But nothing that is morally impure will ever enter that city. No one who does things that God considers detestable and no one who tells lies will ever enter it. Only those people whose names God has written in the book that belongs to the Lamb will be there. That is the book that lists the names of people who have everlasting life. BSB BSB: But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
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