Revelation 21 · Verse 17

Revelation 21:17

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Revelation 21:17, King James Version

Revelation 21:17 in other translations

BSB	And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.
WEB	Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
ASV	And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
YLT	and he measured its wall, an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of the messenger;
DARBY	And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, a man's measure, that is, the angel's.
BBE	And he took the measure of its wall, one hundred and forty-four cubits, after the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
Webster	And he measured the wall of it a hundred and forty four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

What does Revelation 21:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

17. hundred ... forty ... four cubits--twelve times twelve: the Church-number squared. The wall is far beneath the height of the city. measure of a man, that is, of the angel--The ordinary measure used by men is the measure here used by the angel, distinct from "the measure of the sanctuary." Men shall then be equal to the angels.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 17. And he measured the wall thereof. In respect to its height. Of course, its length corresponded with the extent of the city.

An hundred and forty and four cubits. This would be, reckoning the cubit at eighteen inches, two hundred and sixteen feet. This is less than the height of the walls of Babylon, which Herodotus says were three hundred and fifty feet high. See Introduction to Isa 13:1. As the walls of a city are designed to protect it from external foes, the height mentioned here gives all proper ideas of security; and we are to conceive of the city itself as towering immensely above the walls. Its glory, therefore, would not be obscured by the wall that was thrown around it for defence.

According to the measure of a man. The measure usually employed by men. This seems to be added in order to prevent any mistake as to the size of the city. It is an angel who makes the measurement, and without this explanation it might perhaps be supposed that he used some measure not in common use among men, so that, after all, it would be impossible to form any definite idea of the size of the city.

That is, of the angel. That is, "which is the measure employed by the angel." It was, indeed, an angel who measured the city, but the measure which he employed was that in common use among men.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 17 The wall - a hundred and forty and four cubits - This is twelve, the number of the apostles, multiplied by itself: for twelve times twelve make one hundred and forty-four. The measure of a man, that is, of the angel - The cubit, so called from cubitus, the elbow, is the measure from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, and is generally reckoned at one foot and a half, or eighteen inches; though it appears, from some measurements at the pyramids of Egypt, that the cubit was, at least in some cases, twenty-one inches. By the cubit of a man we may here understand the ordinary cubit, and that this was the angel's cubit who appeared in the form of a man. Or suppose we understand the height of the man as being here intended, and that this was the length of the measuring rod. Now allowing this height and rod to be six feet, and that this was intended to have some kind of symbolical reference to the twelve tribes, mentioned Rev 21:12, represented by the twelve gates; and to the twelve apostles, represented by the twelve thresholds or foundations; then twenty-four, the number of the tribes and apostles, multiplied by six, make precisely the number one hundred and forty-four.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Revelation 21:9-21

God has various employments for his holy angels. Sometimes they sound the trumpet of Divine Providence, and warn a careless world; sometimes they discover things of a heavenly nature of the heirs of salvation. Those who would have clear views of heaven, must get as near to heaven as they can, on the mount of meditation and faith. The subject of the vision is the church of God in a perfect, triumphant state, shining…

Read the full comment on Revelation 21:9-21 →

Revelation 21:17 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532

ἐμέτρησενemetrēsenhe measuredG3354

τὸtotheG3588

τεῖχοςteichoswallG5038

αὐτῆςautēsof itG846

ἑκατὸνhekatonone hundredG1540

τεσσεράκονταtesserakontafortyG5062

τεσσάρωνtessarōnfourG5064

πηχῶν,pēchōncubits,G4083

μέτρονmetron[the] measureG3358

ἀνθρώπουanthrōpouof manG444

ὅhothatG3739

ἐστινestinisG1510

ἀγγέλου.angelouof the angel.G32

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Revelation 21:17

Deuteronomy 3:11
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
Revelation 21:9
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 7:4
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 14:3
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

an.
7:4; 14:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Revelation 21:16
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
Revelation 21:17
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Revelation 21:18
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

Read all of Revelation 21

Revelation 21:17 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y midió su muro, ciento cuarenta y cuatro codos, de medida de hombre, la cual es del ángel.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il mesura sa muraille, 144 coudées, mesure d’homme, c’est-à-dire d’ange.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er maß ihre Mauer, 144 Ellen, eines Menschen Maß, das ist des Engels.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et mensus est murum ejus centum quadraginta quatuor cubitorum, mensura hominis, quæ est angeli.