Revelation 21:17

Murdock Translation

And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty and four measures of the cubits of a man, that is, of the angel.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used.

King James Version (1611)
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred, and fourtie, and foure cubites, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel.

King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.

New Century Version
The angel also measured the wall. It was 216 feet high, by human measurements, which the angel was using.

English Standard Version
He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.

Berean Standard Bible
And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.

Contemporary English Version
Then the angel measured the wall, and by our measurements it was about two hundred sixteen feet high.

Complete Jewish Bible
He measured its wall at 216 feet by human standards of measurement, which the angel was using.

Darby Translation
And he measured its wall, a hundred [and] forty-four cubits, [a] man's measure, that is, [the] angel's.

Easy-to-Read Version
The angel also measured the wall. It was 144 cubits high. (The angel was using the same measurement that people use.)

Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee measured the wall thereof, an hundreth fourtie and foure cubites, by the measure of man, that is, of the Angell.

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

Good News Translation
The angel also measured the wall, and it was 216 feet high, according to the standard unit of measure which he was using.

Lexham English Bible
And he measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits according to human measure, which is the angel's.

Literal Translation
And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty four cubits, a measure of a man, which is of an angel.

Amplified Bible
He measured its wall also—a hundred forty-four cubits (about 200 feet), according to man's measurements, which are [also] angelic [measurements].

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Hebrew Names Version
He measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

International Standard Version
He also measured its wall. According to the human measurement that the angel was using it was 144 cubits.[fn]

Etheridge Translation
And he measured the wall of it, an hundred and forty and four measures of the cubits of a man, that is, of the angel.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he measured the wall thereof an hundreth and fourtie and foure cubites, by the measure of man, that is of the angell.

English Revised Version
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.

World English Bible
He measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred forty-four reeds, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

Weymouth's New Testament
And he measured the wall of it--a wall of a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to human measure, which was also that of the angel.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he mat the wallis of it, of an hundrid and `foure and fourti cubitis, bi mesure of man, that is, of an aungel.

Update Bible Version
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.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

New English Translation
He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits according to human measurement, which is also the angel's.

New King James Version
Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

New Living Translation
Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).

New Life Bible
The angel found out that the walls were the same as a man taking seventy-two long steps. The angel used the same way to find out about the city as a man would have used.

New Revised Standard
He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he measured the wall thereof, - a hundred and forty-four cubits: the measure of a man, which is the measure of a messenger.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he measured the wall thereof an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel.

Revised Standard Version
He also measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits by a man's measure, that is, an angel's.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he measured the wall therof. an cxliiii. cubittes: the measure that ye angell had was after the measure that man vseth.

Young's Literal Translation
and he measured its wall, an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of the messenger;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he measured the wall therof, an cxliiij. cubittes, after ye measure of a man, which the angel had.

Mace New Testament (1729)
he measured the wall, and it was an hundred and forty four cubits, according to the common measure, which was what the angel employed.

Simplified Cowboy Version
He measured the wall to be 216 feet high.

Contextual Overview

⁹ And there came one of those seven angels, who have the seven cups filled with the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying: Come, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. ¹⁰ And he bore me away in the spirit, to a mountain great and high, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God; ¹¹ in which was the glory of God, as a brilliant light, and resembling a very precious gem; like a jasper stone, resembling crystal. ¹² And it had a wall great and lofty, which had twelve gates, and names inscribed on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. ¹³ On the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; [fn] . ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and upon them the twelve names of the twelve legates of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And he that talked with me, had a measure, a golden reed; so that he could measure the city, and its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ And the city stood up four square; and its length was the same as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, to twelve furlongs of twelve thousand; and the length and the breadth and the height of it were [fn] equal. ¹⁷ And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty and four measures of the cubits of a man, that is, of the angel. ¹⁸ And the structure of its wall [fn] jasper; and the city was of pure gold, like pure glass.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

an: Revelation 7:4, Revelation 14:3

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 6:2 - threescore Isaiah 8:1 - a man's pen Revelation 13:18 - the number Revelation 21:12 - a wall

Cross-References

Matthew 15:32
Then Jesus called his disciples, and said to them: I pity this multitude; for lo, these three days they have continued with me, and they have nothing to eat: and I am unwilling to send them away fasting, lest they faint by the way.

Mark 5:36
But Jesus heard the word they spoke, and said to the ruler of the synagogue: Fear not; only believe.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits,.... The root of which is twelve, for twelve times twelve is a hundred and forty four; which number is mystical and apostolical, and suited to the perfect state of this church: hence twelve gates, and twelve angels at them, and the names of the twelve tribes on them, and twelve foundations of the wall, and twelve thousand furlongs, the measure of the city.

According to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel; who talked with John, and measured the city, gates, and wall, and who appeared in the form of a man; and his reed might be, as some have supposed, the length of a man, six cubits, or six feet, as in Ezekiel 40:5 and may denote that this business requires the utmost wisdom and understanding of a man, and even of an angel, to look into, and find out; see

Revelation 13:18 and also may signify the angelic state of the saints at this time, when the children of the resurrection will be like the angels of God, for immortality and glory.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 the introduction to chapter 13 of Isaiah. 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 defense.

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 people, 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 people.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 21:17. 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 Revelation 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.