Christian Standard Bible
Revelation 21:12
12The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates.
Revelation 21:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
- New International Version (NIV)It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
- English Standard Version (ESV)It had a great, high wall, 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—
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Context of Revelation 21:12
10He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.
Read all of Revelation 21Revelation 21:12 word by word
ἔχουσα τεῖχος μέγα καὶ ὑψηλόν, ἔχουσα πυλῶνας δώδεκα καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς πυλῶσιν ἀγγέλους δώδεκα, καὶ ὀνόματα ἐπιγεγραμμένα, ἅ ἐστιν τὰ ὀνόματα τῶν δώδεκα φυλῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andτεte · and/bothG5037
- hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- a wallτεῖχοςteichos · wallG5038
- greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- highὑψηλόςhupsēlos · highG5308
- twelveδώδεκαdōdeka · twelveG1427
- gatesπυλώνpulōn · gateG4440
- atἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- angelsἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
- namesὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
- written thereonἐπιγράφωepigraphō · to write onG1924
- whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- tribesφυλήphulē · tribeG5443
- of the childrenυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- of IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
Cross-references for Revelation 21:12
- Revelation 21:17Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used.
- Ezra 9:9Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 12:27At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.
- Psalms 51:18In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem.
- Psalms 122:7may there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses.”
- Revelation 21:21The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
- Isaiah 54:12I will make your fortifications out of rubies, your gates out of sparkling stones, and all your walls out of precious stones.
- Isaiah 60:18Violence will never again be heard of in your land; devastation and destruction will be gone from your borders. You will call your walls Salvation and your city gates Praise.
- Ezekiel 48:31there will be three gates facing north, the gates of the city being named for the tribes of Israel: one, the gate of Reuben; one, the gate of Judah; and one, the gate of Levi.
- Matthew 18:10“See to it that you don’t despise one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angels continually view the face of my Father in heaven.
- Luke 15:10I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- Luke 16:22One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
- Hebrews 1:14Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?
- Revelation 7:4And I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:
- Numbers 2:2“The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:
- Acts 26:7the promise our twelve tribes hope to reach as they earnestly serve him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope.
Commentaries on Revelation 21:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Had a wall great and high - An almighty defense. Twelve gates - A gate for every tribe of Israel, in the vicinity of which gate that tribe dwelt; so that in coming in and going out they did not mix with each other. This description of the city is partly taken from Ezekiel 48:30-35. In Synopsis Sohar, p. 115, n. 27, it is said: "In the palace of the world to come there are twelve gates, each of which is inscribed with one of the twelve tribes, as that of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And had a wall great and high - Ancient cities were always surrounded with walls for protection, and John represents this as enclosed in the usual manner. The word “great” means that it was thick and strong. Its height also is particularly noticed, for it was unusual. See Revelation 21:16. And had twelve gates - Three on each side. The number of the gates correspond to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and to the number of the apostles…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-21Verses 9-21 God has various employments for his holy angels. Sometimes they sound the trumpet of Divine Providence, and warn a careless world; sometimes they discover things of a heavenly nature of the heirs of salvation. Those who would have clear views of heaven, must get as near to heaven as they can, on the mount of meditation and faith. The subject of the vision is the church of God in a perfect, triumphant state, shining in its lustre; glorious in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-14In this vision, the twelve tribes of Israel symbolize God's redeemed people (see Revelation 7:4–8; see also Romans 9:6–7). The twelve apostles of the Lamb form the foundation for this community of God's redeemed. Through Jesus, God has fully fulfilled his promise to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham (Genesis 12:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. And--A and B omit. Eze 48:30-35, has a similar description, which implies that the millennial Jerusalem shall have its exact antitype in the heavenly Jerusalem which shall descend on the finally regenerated earth. wall great and high--setting forth the security of the Church. Also, the exclusion of the ungodly. twelve angels--guards of the twelve gates: an additional emblem of perfect security, while the gates being never shut (Re 21:25) imply perfect…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 21:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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