Revelation 21:27

But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — John, writing to the seven churches, describes the New Jerusalem after it has received the glory and honor of the nations (21:26) and before the throne scene of chapter 22. The verse functions as a boundary clause: what the city will never admit.

The words — κοινὸν (koinon) is rendered "unclean" in the BSB but literally means "common, unsanctified, mixed" — a term for what has not been set apart, not merely what is morally stained. The double negation οὐ μὴ (ou mē) marks a strong, emphatic prohibition: "certainly not."

The thread — Isaiah 52:1 promises that "the unclean shall no longer pass through" holy Jerusalem; Revelation 22:14 ties entry to the city to robes washed white; Revelation 3:5 ties the Book of Life to the one who overcomes and is never blotted out.

Why it lands — The criterion for entry is not a measured degree of personal cleanliness but a single fact: the name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The verse removes the reader from the question "am I pure enough?" and places it before the question "is my name there?"

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Cross-references

Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
Revelation 3:5 Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
Revelation 20:15 And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Isaiah 35:8 And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
Ezekiel 44:9 This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh may enter My sanctuary—not even a foreigner who lives among the Israelites.
Joel 3:17 Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
Psalms 101:8 Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.