Revelation 21:19 BSB

Revelation 21:19

The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;

KJV

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

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Commentary

3 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

Clement of Alexandria

The Instructor Book 2 (215)

Tradition assures us that the heavenly Jerusalem that is above is built up of holy gems, and we know that the twelve gates of the heavenly city, which signify the wonderful beauty of the apostolic teaching, are compared with precious jewels. These priceless stones are described as possessing certain colors that are themselves precious, while the rest is left of an earthly substance. To say that the city of the saints is built of such jewels, even though it is a spiritual edifice, is a cogent symbol indeed.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

The like ornaments on the foundations of the walls of this city may express the perfect glory and happiness of all the inhabitants of it from the most glorious presence and protection of God. Each precious stone was not the ornament of the foundation, but the foundation itself. The colours of these are remarkably mixed.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

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

And the foundations of the wall of the city - notes on Rev 21:14. Were garnished - Were adorned, or decorated. That is, the foundations were composed of precious stones, giving them this highly ornamented and brilliant appearance. The first foundation - The first “row, layer, or course.” notes on Rev 21:14. Was jasper - See the notes on Rev 4:3. The second, sapphire - This stone is not elsewhere mentioned in the New Testament. It is a precious stone, next in hardness to the diamond, usually of an azure or sky-blue color, but of various shades.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

24 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
οἱ	hoi	the	G3588 →
θεμέλιοι	themelioi	foundations	G2310 →
τοῦ	tou	of the	G3588 →
τείχους	teichous	wall	G5038 →
τῆς	tēs	of the	G3588 →
πόλεως	poleōs	city	G4172 →
παντὶ	panti	with every	G3956 →
λίθῳ	lithō	stone	G3037 →
τιμίῳ	timiō	precious	G5093 →
κεκοσμημένοι.	kekosmēmenoi	adorned.	G2885 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
θεμέλιος	themelios	foundation	G2310 →
ὁ	ho	<the>	G3588 →
πρῶτος	prōtos	first	G4413 →
ἴασπις,	iaspis	jasper,	G2393 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
δεύτερος	deuteros	second	G1208 →
σάπφιρος,	sapphiros	sapphire,	G4552 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
τρίτος	tritos	third	G5154 →
χαλκηδών,	chalkēdōn	chalcedony,	G5472 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
τέταρτος	tetartos	fourth	G5067 →
σμάραγδος,	smaragdos	emerald,	G4665 →

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 walk5

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
Proverbs 3:15
She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.
leads to
- Proverbs 8:11
  For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.
- Proverbs 31:10
  A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Job 28:18
  Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
- Romans 8:18
  I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
- Psalms 73:25–26
  Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 21:19

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 →