Revelation 22

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

1Then the angel showed me a river. Its water gives life. The water was clear like glass. It flowed out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Note"The Lamb" is a name the book of Revelation uses for Jesus.

2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

2The river ran down the middle of the city's main street. On both sides of the river grew the tree of life. It grows twelve kinds of fruit. It makes fresh fruit every month. Its leaves are used to heal the nations.

3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

3Nothing there will be under a curse anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will serve him there.

4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

4They will see his face. His name will be on their foreheads.

5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

5There will be no night there. They will not need a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God himself will give them light. And they will rule for ever and ever.

6And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

6Then the angel said to me, "These words are true, and you can trust them. The Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel. The prophets were people who told others what God said. God sent the angel to show his servants what must happen soon."

7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

7"Listen! I am coming soon. God will bless anyone who obeys the words of this book. These words tell what is going to happen."

8And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

8I am John. I saw these things and I heard them. When I had heard and seen them, I knelt down to worship. I knelt at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

9But he said to me, "Do not do that! I serve God, just as you do. I serve along with your brothers the prophets. I serve with everyone who obeys the words of this book. Worship God!"

10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

10Then he said to me, "Do not close this book up and keep it secret. The time is near."

11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

11"Let the person who does wrong keep doing wrong. Let the person who is dirty inside stay dirty. Let the person who does right keep doing right. Let the holy person, who belongs to God, stay holy."

12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

12"Listen! I am coming soon. I am bringing my reward with me. I will pay each person for what he has done."

13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

13"I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the first and the last."

NoteAlpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Saying them is like saying "A and Z."

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

14God blesses the people who obey his commands. They will be allowed to eat from the tree of life. They may walk through the gates into the city.

15For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

15Outside the city are the dogs. Outside are people who do magic. Outside are people who are not faithful to their husband or wife. Outside are people who kill others, and people who worship false gods. Outside are all who love to lie and who tell lies.

Note"Dogs" here does not mean pets. In that time it was a harsh word for people who were shut out.

16I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

16"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things. They are for the churches, the groups of people who follow me. I am the root of David, and I come from David's family. I am the bright morning star that shines before the sun comes up."

17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let everyone who hears this say, "Come!" Let anyone who is thirsty come. Anyone who wants the water of life may drink it. It costs nothing.

18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

18I give this warning to everyone who hears the words of this book. If anyone adds anything to these words, God will add something to him. God will give him the terrible troubles written about in this book.

19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

19And if anyone takes away any words from this book, God will take something away from him. He will lose his share in the book of life and in the holy city. He will lose the things written about in this book.

20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

20The one who tells us these things are true says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. That word means, "Yes, it is true." Come, Lord Jesus!

21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

21May the kind love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.