Revelation 22
New Matthew Bible
The river of the water of life. The fruitfulness and light of the city of God. The Lord does ever give his servants warning of things to come. The angel will not be worshipped. Nothing may be added to the word of God, nor taken away from it.
22 And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the seat of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of the street of the city. And on either side of the river there was the wood of life, which bore 12 kinds of fruit, and gave fruit every month. And the leaves of the wood served to heal the people. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the seat of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be in their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there, and they need no lamp, nor the light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forevermore.
6 And he said to me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the saints and prophets sent his angel to show to his servants the things that must shortly be fulfilled.
7 Behold, I come shortly. Happy is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
8 I am John, who saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. 9 And he said to me, See you do it not. For I am your fellow servant, and the fellow servant of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the sayings of this book. But worship God.
10 And he said to me, Do not seal up the sayings of the prophecy of this book. For the time is at hand.
11 He who does evil, let him do evil still; and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he who is righteous, let him be more righteous; and he who is holy, let him be more holy. 12 And behold, I come shortly, and my reward with me, to give to everyone according to his deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are those who do his commandments, so that their power may be in the tree of life, and they may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For outside shall be dogs, and enchanters, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves or makes lies.
16 I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify of these things to you in the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say also, Come! And let him who is a-thirst come. And let whosoever will, take of the water of life, free.
18 I testify to everyone that hears the words of prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to these things, 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, God will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from those things which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, Be it, I come quickly.
Amen. Even so. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The end of the New
Testament.
Revelation 22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
1 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,[a] sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb(A) 2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life[b] that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will look upon his face,[c] and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.(B)
VII. Epilogue[d]
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”(C) 7 [e]“Behold, I am coming soon.”[f] Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.(D)
8 It is I, John, who heard and saw 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. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the message of this book. Worship God.”(E)
10 Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words of this book, for the appointed time[g] is near. 11 Let the wicked still act wickedly, and the filthy still be filthy. The righteous must still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds.(F) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(G) the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”[h]
14 Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city[i] through its gates.(H) 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.(I)
16 “I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David,[j] the bright morning star.”(J)
17 The Spirit and the bride[k] say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.(K)
18 I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.(L)
20 [l](M)The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Footnotes
- 22:1, 17 Life-giving water: see note on Rev 7:17.
- 22:2 The tree of life: cf. Rev 22:14; see note on Rev 2:7. Fruit…medicine: cf. Ez 47:12.
- 22:4 Look upon his face: cf. Mt 5:8; 1 Cor 13:12; 1 Jn 3:2.
- 22:6–21 The book ends with an epilogue consisting of a series of warnings and exhortations and forming an inclusion with the prologue by resuming its themes and expressions; see note on Rev 1:1–3.
- 22:7, 12, 20 I am coming soon: Christ is the speaker; see note on Rev 1:3.
- 22:7, 14 Blessed: see note on Rev 1:3.
- 22:10 The appointed time: see note on Rev 1:3.
- 22:13 Christ applies to himself words used by God in Rev 1:8.
- 22:14 The city: heavenly Jerusalem; see note on Rev 21:2.
- 22:16 The root…of David: see note on Rev 5:5. Morning star: see note on Rev 2:26–28.
- 22:17 Bride: the church; see note on Rev 21:2.
- 22:20 Come, Lord Jesus: a liturgical refrain, similar to the Aramaic expression Marana tha—“Our Lord, come!”—in 1 Cor 16:22; cf. note there. It was a prayer for the coming of Christ in glory at the parousia; see note on Rev 1:3.
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.