The Righteousness of God Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(A)the righteousness of God ^(B)has been manifested apart from the law, although ^(C)the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God ^(D)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^(E)For there is no distinction: ²³ for ^(F)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ^24 (G)and are justified ^(H)by his grace as a gift, ^(I)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God ^(J)put forward as ^(K)a propitiation ^(L)by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in ^(M)his divine forbearance he had passed over ^(N)former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw ^(A)a new heaven and a new earth, for ^(B)the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw ^(C)the holy city, ^(D)new Jerusalem, ^(E)coming down out of heaven from God, ^(F)prepared ^(G)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, ^(H)the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will ^(I)dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^{[c] 4 (J)}He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ^(K)death shall be no more, ^(L)neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ And ^(M)he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I ^(N)am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for ^(O)these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he said to me, ^(P)“It is done! ^(Q)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. ^(R)To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ^7 (S)The one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^(T)I will be his God and ^(U)he will be my son. ^8 (V)But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, ^(W)their portion will be in ^(X)the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^(Y)the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹ Then came ^(Z)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ^(AA)the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(AB)the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And ^(AC)he carried me away in the Spirit to ^(AD)a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ^11 (AE)having the glory of God, ^(AF)its radiance ^(AG)like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall, ^(AH)with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³ on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve ^(AI)foundations, and ^(AJ)on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ And the one who spoke with me ^(AK)had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶ The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.^[d] Its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ He also measured its wall, 144 cubits^[e] by ^(AL)human measurement, which is also ^(AM)an angel's measurement. ¹⁸ The wall was built of ^(AN)jasper, while the city was pure gold, like ^(AO)clear glass. ^19 (AP)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and ^(AQ)the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²² And ^(AR)I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³ And the city ^(AS)has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for ^(AT)the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ By its light ^(AU)will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth ^(AV)will bring their glory into it, ²⁵ and ^(AW)its gates will never be shut by day—and ^(AX)there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷ But ^(AY)nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's ^(AZ)book of life.

The River of Life

22 Then the angel^[f] showed me ^(BA)the river of ^(BB)the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of ^(BC)the street of the city; ^(BD)also, on either side of the river, ^(BE)the tree of life^[g] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were ^(BF)for the healing of the nations. ^3 (BG)No longer will there be anything accursed, but ^(BH)the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and ^(BI)his servants will worship him. ^4 (BJ)They will see his face, and ^(BK)his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And ^(BL)night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp ^(BM)or sun, for ^(BN)the Lord God will be their light, and ^(BO)they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

⁶ And he said to me, ^(BP)“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of ^(BQ)the spirits of the prophets, ^(BR)has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

⁷ “And behold, ^(BS)I am coming soon. ^(BT)Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸ I, ^(BU)John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, ^(BV)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ^9 (BW)but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those ^(BX)who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

¹⁰ And he said to me, ^(BY)“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ^11 (BZ)Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

¹² “Behold, ^(CA)I am coming soon, ^(CB)bringing my recompense with me, ^(CC)to repay each one for what he has done. ^13 (CD)I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^(CE)the first and the last, ^(CF)the beginning and the end.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who ^(CG)wash their robes,^[h] so that they may have the right to ^(CH)the tree of life and that ^(CI)they may enter the city by the gates. ^15 (CJ)Outside are ^(CK)the dogs ^(CL)and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

^16 (CM)“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things ^(CN)for the churches. I am ^(CO)the root and ^(CP)the descendant of David, ^(CQ)the bright morning star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and ^(CR)the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And ^(CS)let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the ^(CT)water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: ^(CU)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 of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in ^(CV)the tree of life and in ^(CW)the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely ^(CX)I am coming soon.” Amen. ^(CY)Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.^[i] Amen.