Revelation 21:11
Context21:11 The city possesses 1 the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 2
Revelation 21:19-20
Context21:19 The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated 3 with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, 4 the fourth emerald, 21:20 the fifth onyx, 5 the sixth carnelian, 6 the seventh chrysolite, 7 the eighth beryl, 8 the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, 9 the eleventh jacinth, 10 and the twelfth amethyst.
1 tn Grk “from God, having the glory of God.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “the city” to refer back to the previous clause and translating the participle (“having”) as a finite verb.
2 tn On the term ἰάσπιδι (iaspidi) BDAG 465 s.v. ἴασπις states, “jasper, a precious stone found in various colors, mostly reddish, somet. green…brown, blue, yellow, and white. In antiquity the name was not limited to the variety of quartz now called jasper, but could designate any opaque precious stone. Rv 21:18f. W. λίθος 4:3 (TestSol C 11:8). λίθος ἴασπις κρυσταλλίζων a stone of crystal-clear jasper 21:11 (cp. Is 54:12); perh. the opal is meant here; acc. to some, the diamond.”
3 tn The perfect participle here has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect.
4 sn Agate (also called chalcedony) is a semiprecious stone usually milky or gray in color (L&N 2.32).
5 sn Onyx (also called sardonyx) is a semiprecious stone that comes in various colors (L&N 2.35).
6 sn Carnelian is a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).
7 sn Chrysolite refers to either quartz or topaz, golden yellow in color (L&N 2.37).
8 sn Beryl is a semiprecious stone, usually blue-green or green in color (L&N 2.38).
9 sn Chrysoprase is a greenish type of quartz (L&N 2.40).
10 sn Jacinth is a semiprecious stone, probably blue in color (also called “hyacinth,” but that translation is not used here because of possible confusion with the flower of the same name). See L&N 2.41.