Revelation 21:17 BSB

Revelation 21:17

And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

KJV

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

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Commentary

4 voices

Victorinus of Pettau

Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John (304)

The city which he says is squared, he says also is resplendent with gold and precious stones, and has a sacred street, and a river through the midst of it, and the tree of life on either side, bearing twelve manner of fruits throughout the twelve months; and that the light of the sun is not there, because the Lamb is the light of it; and that its gates were of single pearls; and that there were three gates on each of the four sides, and that they could not be shut.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 21:17 (560)

Clearly in many passages an angel symbolizes the church. Since the church is gathered together from people and is lifted high by the promises of Christ, she hopes for equality with the angels and her every intent longs for their company, and for this reason …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits,.... The root of which is twelve, for twelve times twelve is a hundred and forty four; which number is mystical and apostolical, and suited to the perfect state of this church: hence twelve gates, and twelve angels at them, and the names of the twelve tribes on them, and twelve foundations of the wall, and twelve thousand furlongs, the measure of the city.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

And he measured the wall thereof - In respect to its “height.” Of course, its length corresponded with the extent of the city. An hundred and forty and four cubits - This would be, reckoning the cubit at eighteen inches, two hundred and sixteen feet. This is less than the height of the walls of Babylon, which Herodotus says were three hundred and fifty feet high. See the introduction to chapter 13 of Isaiah.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

14 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
ἐμέτρησεν	emetrēsen	he measured	G3354 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
τεῖχος	teichos	wall	G5038 →
αὐτῆς	autēs	of it	G846 →
ἑκατὸν	hekaton	one hundred	G1540 →
τεσσεράκοντα	tesserakonta	forty	G5062 →
τεσσάρων	tessarōn	four	G5064 →
πηχῶν,	pēchōn	cubits,	G4083 →
μέτρον	metron	[the] measure	G3358 →
ἀνθρώπου	anthrōpou	of man	G444 →
ὅ	ho	that	G3739 →
ἐστιν	estin	is	G1510 →
ἀγγέλου.	angelou	of the angel.	G32 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Revelation 7:4
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:
leads to
- Revelation 14:1
  Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Revelation 14:3
  And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the…
Through
Revelation 14:3
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the…
leads to
- Revelation 5:9
  And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and…
- Revelation 15:3
  and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
Through
Revelation 13:18
Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.
leads to
- Revelation 15:2
  And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps…
- Revelation 17:9
  This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
Through
Revelation 21:9
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
leads to
- Revelation 19:7
  Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.
- Revelation 21:2
  I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 21:17

Creation to New Creation

The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city — and the city has the garden in the middle of it. Seven explicit textual echoes bind Genesis 1–2 to Revelation 21–22.

Open the study →