What Does Revelation 21:3 Mean in the King James?
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
“Tabernacle” and “dwell” are forms of the same Greek tent-word, so the verse describes one shared presence, not two separate promises.
THE MEANING
This vision names a life in which God is with you, not sealed off from human life. The repeated promise of presence and belonging makes nearness and relationship one reality. That wholeness speaks now: distance is not the final truth about your life.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that God’s dwelling is permanently remote and people stand outside it: the verse pictures God with them, sharing their life.
THE ROOT
σκηνή
skēnē
GROWS FROM
σκην-
skēn-
Tent, booth, or shelter; the root carries the image of dwelling in a tent.
The Greek word translated “tabernacle” is σκηνή, and “dwell” translates σκηνώσει, a verb from the same word family. English makes them sound like separate ideas, while Greek joins the tent and the act of dwelling: God’s presence is pitched among people.
ALSO GROWS
skēnoō: To pitch a tent; to dwell.
σκηνόω
This is the verb behind “dwell” in the verse, linking God’s dwelling directly to the tabernacle image.
skēnos: A tent or temporary dwelling.
σκῆνος
In 2 Corinthians 5:1, it names the earthly tent of human life, extending the same dwelling image to our embodied condition.
THE PATTERN
Scripture repeatedly names God’s presence as shared dwelling, with belonging stated alongside it.
And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.THE THREAD
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.The word translated “dwelt” is a form of the same Greek tent-word translated “tabernacle” here. John names that dwelling among us; Revelation names its fullness as God with the people.
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