The River of Life

22 And he showed me (A)a [a]pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (B)In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was (C)the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were (D)for the healing of the nations. And (E)there shall be no more curse, (F)but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His (G)servants shall serve Him. (H)They shall see His face, and (I)His name shall be on their foreheads. (J)There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor (K)light of the sun, for (L)the Lord God gives them light. (M)And they shall reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near

Then he said to me, (N)“These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the [b]holy prophets (O)sent His angel to show His servants the things which must (P)shortly take place.

(Q)“Behold, I am coming quickly! (R)Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Now I, John, [c]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, (S)I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

Then he said to me, (T)“See that you do not do that. [d]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 (U)And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, (V)for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him [e]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Jesus Testifies to the Churches

12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and (W)My reward is with Me, (X)to give to every one according to his work. 13 (Y)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the [f]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

14 (Z)Blessed are those who [g]do His commandments, that they may have the right (AA)to the tree of life, (AB)and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 [h]But (AC)outside are (AD)dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

16 (AE)“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. (AF)I am the Root and the Offspring of David, (AG)the Bright and Morning Star.”

17 And the Spirit and (AH)the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” (AI)And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

A Warning

18 [i]For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: (AJ)If anyone adds to these things, [j]God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, (AK)God[k] shall take away his part from the [l]Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I Am Coming Quickly

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be [m]with you all. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 22:1 NU, M omit pure
  2. Revelation 22:6 NU, M spirits of the prophets
  3. Revelation 22:8 NU, M am the one who heard and saw
  4. Revelation 22:9 NU, M omit For
  5. Revelation 22:11 NU, M do right
  6. Revelation 22:13 NU, M First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
  7. Revelation 22:14 NU wash their robes,
  8. Revelation 22:15 NU, M omit But
  9. Revelation 22:18 NU, M omit For
  10. Revelation 22:18 M may God add
  11. Revelation 22:19 M may God take away
  12. Revelation 22:19 NU, M tree of life
  13. Revelation 22:21 NU with all; M with all the saints

The Perfect Life

22 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),(A) in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.(B) There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion];(C) they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.(D) And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.(E)

You Are Invited to be Blessed

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.

“And behold, I am coming quickly. [a]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll).”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God.”

10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time [of their fulfillment] is [b]near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy (vile, impure), still be filthy; and the one who is righteous (just, upright), still be righteous; and the one who is holy, still be holy.”(F)

12 “Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, [c]to give to each one [d]according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness).(G) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One].”(H)

14 [e]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.(I) 15 Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).

The Final Invitation

16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star.”(J)

17 The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.(K)

18 I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book;(L) 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.

20 He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 22:7 This is the sixth of the seven promised blessings. See note 1:3.
  2. Revelation 22:10 While Daniel was instructed to seal his prophecy, John was now told to reveal his (see Dan 12:4).
  3. Revelation 22:12 I.e. the final judgment for the believer will occur when he stands before Christ to have his fidelity and service judged, and the appropriate reward determined.
  4. Revelation 22:12 Lit as his work is.
  5. Revelation 22:14 This is the seventh and last of the promised blessings. See note 1:3.

22 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life—bright as crystal,[a] flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s street. On either side of the river was a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [b] No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the city, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face,[c] and His name shall be on their foreheads. [d] Night shall be no more, and people will have no need for lamplight or sunlight—for Adonai Elohim will shine on them.[e] And they shall reign forever and ever!

Yeshua Is Coming

He said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true! Adonai, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must happen soon. [f] Behold, I am coming soon! How fortunate is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

I, John, am the one hearing and seeing these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel showing me these things. But he tells me, “See that you do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and those keeping the words of this book. Worship God!”

10 Then he tells me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. [g] 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do righteousness, and the holy still be holy. [h] 12 Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to pay back each one according to his deeds.

13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. [i] 14 How fortunate are those who wash their robes,[j] so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life[k] and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to testify these things to you for My communities. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”[l]

17 The Ruach and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come—let the one who wishes freely take the water of life! [m] 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his share in the Tree of Life and the Holy City,[n] which are written in this book.

20 The One giving testimony to these things says, “Yes! I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua! [o] 21 May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all![p]

22 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,[a] with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets,[b] has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.[c]

Jesus Is Coming

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.[d]

I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”

10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”

12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne.[e] I am the bright morning star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.[f]

Footnotes

  1. 22:2 Or twelve kinds of fruit.
  2. 22:6a Or The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets.
  3. 22:6b Or suddenly, or quickly; also in 22:7, 12, 20.
  4. 22:7 Or scroll; also in 22:9, 10, 18, 19.
  5. 22:16 Greek I am the root and offspring of David.
  6. 22:21 Other manuscripts read be with all; still others read be with all of God’s holy people. Some manuscripts add Amen.