Revelation 21 · Verse 19

Revelation 21:19

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

Revelation 21:19, King James Version

Revelation 21:19 in other translations

BSB	The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
WEB	The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
ASV	The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
YLT	and the foundations of the wall of the city with every precious stone have been adorned; the first foundation jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
DARBY	the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation, jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
BBE	The bases of the wall of the town had ornaments of all sorts of beautiful stones. The first base was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
Webster	And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

What does Revelation 21:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

19. And--so Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas. But A, B, and Vulgate omit. Compare Re 21:14 with this verse; also Is 54:11. all manner of precious stones--Contrast Re 18:12 as to the harlot, Babylon. These precious stones constituted the "foundations." chalcedony--agate from Chalcedon: semi-opaque, sky-blue, with stripes of other colors [Alford].

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

Barnes' Notes

Verse 19. And the foundations of the wall of the city. Rev 21:14.

Were garnished. Were adorned, or decorated. That is, the foundations were composed of precious stones, giving them this highly ornamented and brilliant appearance.

The first foundation. The first row, layer, or course. Barnes on "Re 21:14".

Was jasper. Rev 4:3.

The second, sapphire. This stone is not elsewhere mentioned in the New Testament. It is a precious stone next in hardness to the diamond, usually of an azure or sky-blue colour, but of various shades.

The third, a chalcedony. This word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The stone referred to is an uncrystallized translucent variety of quartz, having a whitish colour, and of a lustre nearly like wax. It is found covering the sides of cavities, and is a deposit from filtrated silicious waters. When it is arranged in stripes, it constitutes agate; and if the stripes are horizontal, it is the onyx. The modern carnelian is a variety of this. The carnelian is of a deep flesh red, or reddish-white colour. The name chalcedony is from Chalcedon, a town in Asia Minor, opposite to Byzantium, or Constantinople, where this stone was probably first known.-- Webster's Dic.

The fourth, an emerald. Rev 4:3. The emerald is green.

(a) "foundations of the wall" Isa 54:11

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 19 The foundations of the wall - Does not this mean the foundations or thresholds of the gates? The gates represented the twelve tribes, Rev 21:12; and these foundations or thresholds, the twelve apostles, Rev 21:14. There was no entrance into the city but through those gates, and none through the gates but over these thresholds. The whole of the Mosaic dispensation was the preparation of the Gospel system: without it the Gospel would have no original; without the Gospel, it would have no reference nor proper object. Every part of the Gospel necessarily supposes the law and the prophets. They are the gates, it is the threshold; without the Gospel no person could enter through those gates. The doctrine of Christ crucified, preached by the apostles, gives a solid foundation to stand on; and we have an entrance into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Heb 10:19, etc. And in reference to this we are said to be built on the Foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, Eph 2:20. The first foundation was jasper - A stone very hard, some species of which are of a sea-green color; but it is generally a bright reddish brown. The second, sapphire - This is a stone of a fine blue color, next in hardness to the diamond. The third, a chalcedony - A genus of the semipellucid gems, of which there are four species: - 1. A bluish white; this is the most common sort. 2. The dull milky veined; this is of little worth. 3. The brownish black; the least beautiful of all. 4. The yellow and red; the most beautiful, as it is the most valuable of all. Hitherto this has been found only in the East Indies. The fourth, an emerald - This is of a bright green color without any mixture, and is one of the most beautiful of all the gems, The true oriental emerald as very scarce, and said to be found only in the kingdom of Cambay.

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 21:19 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.

οἱhoitheG3588

θεμέλιοιthemelioifoundationsG2310

τοῦtouof theG3588

τείχουςteichouswallG5038

τῆςtēsof theG3588

πόλεωςpoleōscityG4172

παντὶpantiwith everyG3956

λίθῳlithōstoneG3037

τιμίῳtimiōpreciousG5093

κεκοσμημένοι.kekosmēmenoiadorned.G2885

ὁhotheG3588

θεμέλιοςthemeliosfoundationG2310

ὁho<the>G3588

πρῶτοςprōtosfirstG4413

ἴασπις,iaspisjasper,G2393

ὁhotheG3588

δεύτεροςdeuterossecondG1208

σάπφιρος,sapphirossapphire,G4552

ὁhotheG3588

τρίτοςtritosthirdG5154

χαλκηδών,chalkēdōnchalcedony,G5472

ὁhotheG3588

τέταρτοςtetartosfourthG5067

σμάραγδος,smaragdosemerald,G4665

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

Cross references for Revelation 21:19

Isaiah 54:11-12
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
Exodus 28:17-21
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. …
Job 28:16-19
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Proverbs 3:15
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

the foundations.
Job 28:16-19; Pr 3:15; Isa 54:11,12
sapphire.
Ex 28:17-21; 29:10-14

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

Context

Revelation 21:18
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Revelation 21:19
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Revelation 21:20
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Read all of Revelation 21

Revelation 21:19 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y los fundamentos del muro de la ciudad estaban adornados de toda piedra preciosa. El primer fundamento era jaspe; el segundo, zafiro; el tercero, calcedonia; el cuarto, esmeralda;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Les fondements de la muraille de la cité étaient ornés de toute pierre précieuse: le premier fondement était de jaspe, le second de saphir, le troisième de calcédoine, le quatrième d’émeraude,
German Elberfelder 1871	Die Grundlagen der Mauer der Stadt waren geschmückt mit jedem Edelstein: die erste Grundlage, Jaspis; die zweite Saphir; die dritte Chalcedon; die vierte, Smaragd;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et fundamenta muri civitatis omni lapide pretioso ornata. Fundamentum primum, jaspis: secundum, sapphirus: tertium, calcedonius: quartum, smaragdus: