But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Parallel translations
- WEB Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- KJV For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
- NKJV But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
- NASB Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
- NLT Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
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
Outside the city are those given to sorcery, immorality, murder, idolatry, and falsehood. The unrepentant are excluded from the life of the new creation.
Overview
The list, echoing 21:8 and 21:27, describes lives characterized by unrepentant rebellion against God. Their exclusion underscores the holiness of God's dwelling and the seriousness of final judgment. The warning is also an implicit invitation to turn from such ways to Christ while there is time.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- Rev 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Gal 5:19–21The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Phil 3:2Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!
- 1 Cor 6:9–10Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
- Rev 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Rev 9:20–21Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.
- Col 3:6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- John 3:18–21Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 2 Th 2:10–12and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- Eph 5:3–6But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
- Rev 18:23The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”
- Rev 17:1–6Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Jer 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Acts 13:6–11They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
- Isa 57:3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
- Acts 8:11They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
- Matt 8:12But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Isa 47:9These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
- Isa 47:12So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
- 1 Kgs 22:21–23Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 22:8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
- Isa 9:15–16The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
- John 8:46Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?
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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 22:15 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.