And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Parallel translations
- WEB Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there),
- BSB Its gates will never be shut at the end of the day, because there will be no night there.
- NKJV Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).
- NASB In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;
- NLT Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The city's gates are never shut, for there is no night there. God's people enjoy perfect, unending peace and security.
Overview
Open gates signify perfect safety, since no enemy threatens (contrast the closed gates of a city under siege). The absence of night points to the constant presence of God's light (v. 23) and the end of all darkness. This pictures the unbroken peace and welcome of the new creation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 60:11Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
- Zech 14:7But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
- Rev 22:5And 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.
- Isa 60:20Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
- Rev 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 21:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.