Translation commentary on Revelation 21:2

The holy city, new Jerusalem: it may be necessary to join the two phrases in a more explicit fashion, “the holy city (or, God’s city), which is the new city of Jerusalem.” Reference has already been made in 3.12 to the new Jerusalem; there “the city of my God” expresses what is said here by the phrase the holy city (see 11.2 and “the beloved city” in 20.9).

Out of heaven from God: God sends the city, which is in heaven, down to earth. So the translation may be “coming down out of heaven, sent by God” or “… from the presence of God.”

Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband: here prepared translates the same Greek verb translated “made … ready” in 19.7. The verb translated adorned appears also in 21.19, with reference to the precious stones in the foundation of the city. For the use of the verb in a context similar to this one, see 1 Tim 2.9. In the context of a bride and groom, the verb would include the bride’s clothing, headdress, and jewelry. The words for her husband may not be entirely satisfactory (nor Good News Translation “like a bride dressed to meet her husband”), since the setting is obviously that of a wedding. A better translation may be “The city was like a woman dressed for her wedding, ready to join the man she is going to marry.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 21:2

21:2a

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem:
The new Jerusalem is the holy city because it belongs to God and God will live there. Here the word holy indicates that the city is dedicated for God’s use. Only his people will live there. Nothing evil will live there. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

I saw the City set apart ⌊for God⌋ , which is the new Jerusalem
-or-
I saw God’s ⌊special⌋ City. This is the new Jerusalem

coming down out of heaven from God: This phrase tells the reader more about the holy city. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other holy cities and only this one was coming down out of heaven from God. If that is true in your language, translate this phrase so that it tells more about the Holy City. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

The city came down from God in heaven.

heaven: Here the word heaven refers to the place where God lives.

21:2b

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband: This phrase symbolically compares the new Jerusalem to a woman about to be married. Like a bride makes herself ready for the wedding, so the new Jerusalem is ready to marry.

In some languages it is more natural to translate 21:2b as a separate sentence. For example:

It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband. (New Century Version)

prepared: Here the word prepared means “was made ready.” The city was ready in the way that a bride is ready to meet her husband. For example:

dressed like a bride ready for her husband (God’s Word)
-or-
like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband. (Contemporary English Version)

The clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊others/they⌋ made her ready

bride: This word refers to a woman who is about to marry.

adorned: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as adorned refers to wearing a beautiful dress and jewelry. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

beautifully dressed (New International Version)
-or-
made beautiful

her husband: Here the word husband refers to the man about to marry his bride.

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