And 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB There will be no night, and they need no lamp light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.
- BSB There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
- NKJV There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
- NASB And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever.
- NLT And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
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
There will be no night, and God himself will be their light as they reign forever. The redeemed share in God's everlasting glory and rule.
Overview
The absence of night and need for created light again points to God as the all-sufficient source of life and glory (cf. 21:23). The promise that they will reign forever fulfills humanity's original calling to rule under God (Genesis 1:28) and the believer's destiny in Christ (2 Timothy 2:12). Eternal, glorious life with God is the final word of the vision.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Dan 7:18But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
- Isa 60:19–20The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
- Rev 20:4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
- Dan 7:27And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
- 1 Pet 1:3–4Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- Ps 36:9For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
- Rom 5:17For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
- Rev 21:22–25And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
- Rev 3:21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
- Matt 25:34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
- 2 Tim 2:12If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
- Prov 4:18–19But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- Rev 11:15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
- Ps 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
- Rev 18:23And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
- Matt 25:46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
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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 22:5 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
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