Revelation 21:16
New International Version
The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.

New Living Translation
When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.

English Standard Version
The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.

Berean Standard Bible
The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.

Berean Literal Bible
And the city lies foursquare, and its length the same as also the width. And he measured the city with the reed at twelve thousand stadia. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

King James Bible
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

New King James Version
The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

New American Standard Bible
The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal.

NASB 1995
The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.

NASB 1977
And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, 12,000 stadia; its length and width and height are equal.

Amplified Bible
The city is laid out as a square, its length being the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod—twelve thousand stadia (about 1,400 miles); its length and width and height are equal.

Christian Standard Bible
The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal.

American Standard Version
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal.

Contemporary English Version
The city was shaped like a cube, because it was just as high as it was wide. When the angel measured the city, it was about 2,400 kilometers high and 2,400 kilometers wide.

English Revised Version
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The city was square. It was as wide as it was long. He measured the city with the stick. It was 12,000 stadia long. Its length, width, and height were the same.

Good News Translation
The city was perfectly square, as wide as it was long. The angel measured the city with his measuring stick: it was fifteen hundred miles long and was as wide and as high as it was long.

International Standard Version
The city was cubic in shape: its length was the same as its width. He measured the city with his rod, and it measured at 12,000 stadia: Its length, width, and height were the same.

Majority Standard Bible
The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal?12,000 stadia in length and width and height.

NET Bible
Now the city is laid out as a square, its length and width the same. He measured the city with the measuring rod at fourteen hundred miles (its length and width and height are equal).

New Heart English Bible
The city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as its breadth. He measured the city with the reed, one thousand three hundred eighty miles. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the hight of it are equal.

Weymouth New Testament
The plan of the city is a square, the length being the same as the breadth; and he measured the city furlong by furlong, with his measuring rod--it is twelve hundred miles long, and the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

World English Bible
The city is square. Its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand twelve stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and the city lies square, and the length of it is as great as the breadth; and he measured the city with the reed—twelve thousand stadia; the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal.

Berean Literal Bible
And the city lies foursquare, and its length the same as also the width. And he measured the city with the reed at twelve thousand stadia. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

Young's Literal Translation
and the city lieth square, and the length of it is as great as the breadth; and he did measure the city with the reed -- furlongs twelve thousand; the length, and the breadth, and the height, of it are equal;

Smith's Literal Translation
And the city lies quadrangular, and her length is so large, such also the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, at twelve thousand stadia. Her length, breadth, and height are equal.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the city lieth in a foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And the city is laid out as a square, and so its length is as great as the width. And he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand stadia, and its length and height and breadth were equal.

New American Bible
The city was square, its length the same as [also] its width. He measured the city with the rod and found it fifteen hundred miles in length and width and height.

New Revised Standard Version
The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the city was laid four-square, and the length was the same as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, about twelve furlongs, twelve thousand paces. And the length and breadth and the height were equal.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the city was laid out four-sided, and its length like its width. And he measured The City with the reed, with 12,000 stadia its length; its width and its height are equal.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
And the city lies square: and its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length, and the breadth, and the hight of it are equal.

Godbey New Testament
And the city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; and the length, and the breadth, and the height of it are equal.

Haweis New Testament
And the city is a quadrangle, and the breadth of it is just as much as the length of it; and he measured the city with the cane, twelve thousand furlongs: the breadth, and the length, and the height of it, are exactly proportioned.

Mace New Testament
the city was a square, the length being as large as the breadth: he measured the city with the reed, and found it twelve thousand furlongs: the length, the breadth, and the height of it were equal.

Weymouth New Testament
The plan of the city is a square, the length being the same as the breadth; and he measured the city furlong by furlong, with his measuring rod--it is twelve hundred miles long, and the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

Worrell New Testament
And the city lies four-square, and its length is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; and the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

Worsley New Testament
And the city was four-square, it's length being as much as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The New Jerusalem
15The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal— 12,000 stadia in length and width and height. 17And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.…

Cross References
Ezekiel 48:16
and will have these measurements: 4,500 cubits on the north side, 4,500 cubits on the south side, 4,500 cubits on the east side, and 4,500 cubits on the west side.

Ezekiel 48:30-35
“These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, / the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. On the north side there will be three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi. / On the east side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ...

1 Kings 6:20
The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.

Zechariah 2:1-2
Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. / “Where are you going?” I asked. “To measure Jerusalem,” he replied, “and to determine its width and length.”

Hebrews 11:10
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 12:22
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels

Isaiah 54:11-12
“O afflicted city, lashed by storms, without solace, surely I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires. / I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.

Isaiah 60:18-19
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. / No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.

Isaiah 65:18-19
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. / I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.

Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?

Daniel 2:35
Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

Daniel 2:44
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

John 14:2
In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?


Treasury of Scripture

And the city lies foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

four square.

Ezekiel 48:17,18,20,35
And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty…

twelve.

Ezekiel 48:8-19
And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it…

Jump to Previous
Breadth City Equal Five Found Foursquare Four-Square Furlongs Great Height Hight Hundred Large Lies Measure Measured Measuring Miles Plan Reed Rod Square Stadia Thereof Thousand Twelve Wide
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Breadth City Equal Five Found Foursquare Four-Square Furlongs Great Height Hight Hundred Large Lies Measure Measured Measuring Miles Plan Reed Rod Square Stadia Thereof Thousand Twelve Wide
Revelation 21
1. A new heaven and a new earth.
10. The heavenly Jerusalem, with a full description thereof.
23. She needs no sun, the glory of God being her light.
24. The kings of the earth bring their riches unto her.














The city lies foursquare
The phrase "foursquare" indicates a perfect symmetry and balance, reflecting divine order and completeness. In the ancient world, a square was often seen as a symbol of perfection and stability. The Greek word used here, "τετράγωνος" (tetragōnos), emphasizes the city's perfection and divine origin. This imagery suggests that the New Jerusalem is a place of perfect harmony, designed by God Himself, where His people will dwell in eternal peace.

with its length and width the same
This phrase underscores the idea of equality and uniformity in the dimensions of the city. The equal length and width signify a balanced and harmonious structure, which can be seen as a metaphor for the equality and unity among God's people in the New Jerusalem. The city is designed to be a place where there is no division or inequality, reflecting the perfect justice and righteousness of God.

And he measured the city with the rod
The act of measuring the city with a rod signifies the precision and intentionality of God's design. The Greek word for "rod," "κάλαμος" (kalamos), was often used for measuring, indicating a standard or rule. This measurement assures believers of the certainty and reality of God's promises. It is a reminder that God's plans are exact and trustworthy, and that He has prepared a place for His people with meticulous care.

12,000 stadia in length and width and height are equal
The measurement of "12,000 stadia" is symbolic, representing completeness and divine perfection. The number 12 is significant in biblical numerology, often associated with God's people (e.g., 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles). The use of "stadia," an ancient unit of length, emphasizes the vastness and grandeur of the New Jerusalem. The equal dimensions in length, width, and height suggest a perfect cube, reminiscent of the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and Temple, where God's presence dwelt. This imagery conveys that the entire city is a sacred space, filled with the presence of God, where believers will experience His glory and fellowship eternally.

(16) And the city lieth foursquare . . .--The city is foursquare, because the length and breadth are equal; but it is added that the height also is equal to the length and breadth, the city thus presents the symbol of perfect symmetry; this is all that is needed. Many interpreters are nervously anxious about the monstrous appearance of a city whose walls measured three thousand stadii (the word rendered "furlongs" is properly stadii); but there is no need to be nervous about the symbols; the city is not designed, any more than the vision of Revelation 4, or the vision of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1) to be represented by painting to the eye: the attempt to do so only ends in the production of grotesque and profane pictures. It is not needful, however, in this case to suppose the actual wall to have been 3,000 stadii in height; the city is placed on a hill, the foundations are upon the holy hill, and the deep strong mountain foundations may be included in the measurement. The main thought, however, is to realise the harmony and proportion of that community, in which broad and low and high will meet, and in which no truth will be exaggerated or distorted; in which no disproportioned adjustments will mar its social order; in which all those who are inbuilt as living stones will be measured, not by the false estimates of worldly thoughts (comp. James 2:4), but by the golden reed of the sanctuary.

Verse 16. - And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth. The shape is doubtless typical of that which is complete and symmetrical, to which nothing is wanting to render the shape perfect. The word τετράγωνος, "foursquare," is thus used by Greek philosophic writers. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. That is, in each direction. (On στάδιον, "furlong," see Revelation 14:20.) The number twelve thousand, which is the number of the sealed in each tribe (Revelation 7.), is typical of

(1) a large number,

(2) a complete number (see on ver. 12).

There seems to be in this description a designed reference to the literal Babylon (see Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible,' art. "Babylon"). The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. The plain meaning seems to be that the city forms a vast cube, and this is typical of its perfect nature. The account given is that of a vision, and not of a reality, and therefore there is no need to attempt to reduce the enormous dimensions given here, as is done by some writers. The holy of holies was thus cubical in shape (1 Kings 6:20).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
The
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

city
πόλις (polis)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4172: A city, the inhabitants of a city. Probably from the same as polemos, or perhaps from polus; a town.

lies
κεῖται (keitai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2749: To lie, recline, be placed, be laid, set, specially appointed, destined. Middle voice of a primary verb; to lie outstretched.

foursquare,
τετράγωνος (tetragōnos)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5068: Square, four-cornered. From tessares and gonia; four-cornered, i.e. Square.

with
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[its]
τὸ (to)
Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

width
πλάτος (platos)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4114: Breadth. From platus; width.

the same as
ὅσον (hoson)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3745: How much, how great, how many, as great as, as much. By reduplication from hos; as As.

its
αὐτῆς (autēs)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

length.
μῆκος (mēkos)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3372: Length. Probably akin to megas; length length.

And
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

he measured
ἐμέτρησεν (emetrēsen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3354: To measure (out), estimate. From metron; to measure; by implication, to admeasure.

the
τὴν (tēn)
Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

city
πόλιν (polin)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4172: A city, the inhabitants of a city. Probably from the same as polemos, or perhaps from polus; a town.

with the
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

rod,
καλάμῳ (kalamō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2563: A reed; a reed-pen, reed-staff, measuring rod. Or uncertain affinity; a reed; by implication, a pen.

[ and all its dimensions ] were
ἐστίν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

equal—
ἴσα (isa)
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2470: Equal, equivalent, identical. Probably from eido; similar.

12,000 {}
δώδεκα (dōdeka)
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural
Strong's 1427: Twelve; the usual way in which the Twelve apostles of Jesus are referred to. From duo and deka; two and ten, i.e. A dozen.

stadia
σταδίων (stadiōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 4712: Or masculine stadios from the base of histemi; a stade or certain measure of distance; by implication, a stadium or race-course.

in
τὸ (to)
Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

length
μῆκος (mēkos)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3372: Length. Probably akin to megas; length length.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

width
πλάτος (platos)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4114: Breadth. From platus; width.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

height.
ὕψος (hypsos)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5311: Height, heaven; dignity, eminence. From a derivative of huper; elevation, i.e. altitude, the sky, or dignity.


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NT Prophecy: Revelation 21:16 The city lies foursquare and its length (Rev. Re Apocalypse)
Revelation 21:15
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