EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Revelation 21:12
12The city had a very big, high wall round it. The wall had 12 gates in it. 12 angels stood at the 12 gates. The names of the 12 tribes of Israel's people were written on the 12 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
10Then God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear strange things. The angel carried me away to a great mountain that was very high. He showed me God's own holy city, Jerusalem. The city was coming down out of heaven from God. 11It had the bright glory of God. It shone like a valuable jewel that is called jasper. It shone like clean glass. The city had a very big, high wall round it. The wall had 12 gates in it. 12 angels stood at the 12 gates. The names of the 12 tribes of Israel's people were written on the 12 gates. 13There were three gates on each side of the city: three gates were on the east side, three gates were on the north side, three gates were on the south side, three gates were on the west side. 14The city's wall has a foundation of 12 strong stones. The names of the Lamb's 12 apostles were written on those 12 stones.
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 21:17He also measured its wall. The size of the wall was 144 cubits (65 metres). That is the way that humans measure things. The angel also measured in the same way.
- Ezra 9:9We are still slaves, but our God has not left us alone to serve other people. Because he loves us, he has caused the kings of Persia to be kind to us. He has let us live so that we can build again the temple of our God. It had become a heap of stones, but now we have built it again. He has given us a safe place to live in Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah.
- Nehemiah 12:27This is what happened when we dedicated the wall of Jerusalem to God. The people told the Levites to come to Jerusalem from the places where they lived. They wanted the Levites to help them to praise God with joy. The Levites would sing songs to thank God. They would make music with cymbals, harps and lyres.
- Psalms 51:18God, please be kind and help Zion. Make the walls of Jerusalem strong again.
- Psalms 122:7Yes, I pray that there will be peace inside the city's walls. I pray people will be safe in their strong houses.
- Revelation 21:21The 12 gates were 12 pearls. They had used a single pearl to make each gate. The city's biggest street was made from pure gold. The light shone through it, as light shines through clean glass.
- Isaiah 54:12I will build your strong towers with rubies. I will build your gates with valuable jewels, and I will build your walls with beautiful stones.
- Isaiah 60:18You will not hear the noise of violence in your land any more. Inside its borders, nobody will fight wars or destroy things. You will call your city's walls ‘Salvation’, and you will call your city's gates ‘Praise’.
- Ezekiel 48:31There will be three gates on that side. Each gate will have the name of one of Israel's tribes, one for Reuben, the next for Judah, and the next for Levi.
- Matthew 18:10Be careful! Do not think that any of these little people are not important. I tell you this. They have angels who watch over them. Those angels are always standing in front of my Father in heaven.
- Luke 15:10When one person stops doing wrong things, it is like that. It makes God's angels and everyone in heaven very happy.’
- Luke 16:22Then Lazarus died and God's angels carried him away. They put him at the side of Abraham in heaven. The rich man then also died and his family buried him in the ground.
- Hebrews 1:14So we see that all the angels are spirits who serve God. God sends them as his servants to help the people that he will save.
- Revelation 7:4Then I heard how many people received God's seal. The number of people was 144,000. They came from all the tribes of Israel's people:
- Numbers 2:2‘The Israelites must put up their tents on each side of the Tent of Meeting. They must not be very near to it but they must be all around it. They must live together in their tribes. Each person must be with his own tribe. Each tribe must have its own flag.
- Acts 26:7He promised a great thing to our 12 Israelite families. We all expect to receive what God has promised to us. That is why we Jews always worship God, in the day and in the night. Like these Jews here, I believe in God's great promise. But that is the reason that they speak against me.
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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