Revelation 2
Expanded Bible
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “Write this to the ·angel [or messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Ephesus [C an important city in western Asia Minor]:
“The One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands [C the resurrected Jesus; 1:16, 20] says ·this [L these things]: 2 I know ·what you do [L your works], ·how you work hard [L your toil] and ·never give up [L your perseverence/endurance]. I know you do not put up with ·the false teachings of evil people [L evildoers; or evil]. You have tested those who say they are apostles but really are not, and you found they are ·liars [or false]. 3 You have ·patience [perseverance; endurance] and have ·suffered troubles [endured much] for my name and have not ·given up [L grown weary].
4 “But I have this against you: You have ·left [abandoned] ·the love you had in the beginning [or your first love]. 5 So ·remember [consider] ·where you were before you fell [L how far you have fallen]. ·Change your hearts [Repent] and do ·what [L the works] you did at first. If you do not ·change [repent], I will come to you and will take away your lampstand from its place. 6 But ·there is something you do that is right [L this you have]: You hate what the Nicolaitans do [C we know little about this heresy, which possibly entailed false worship and immorality], as much as I.
7 “Every person who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who ·win the victory [overcome; conquer] I will give the right to eat the fruit from the ·tree of life, which is in the ·garden [or paradise] of God [22:2; Gen. 2:9].
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “Write this to the ·angel [or messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Smyrna [C a major city in western Asia Minor, identified with present-day Izmir, Turkey]:
“The One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again [C the resurrected Jesus; 1:17–18], says ·this [L these things]: 9 I know your ·troubles [persecution; affliction] and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the ·bad things [slander; blasphemy] some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue ·that belongs to [L of] Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will ·suffer [be persecuted/afflicted] for ten days [C perhaps a symbolic number meaning a significant and definite time]. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the ·crown [C a wreath worn to indicate high status or as a reward] of life.
11 “Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who ·win the victory [overcome; conquer] will not be hurt by the second death [C the spiritual death after physical death; 20:6, 14; 21:8].
To the Church in Pergamum
12 “Write this to the ·angel [messenger; see 1:20] of the church in Pergamum [C a rich city in western Asia Minor]:
“The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword [C the resurrected Jesus; 1:16] says this [L these things]: 13 I know where you live. It is where Satan has his throne [C a reference to false worship; Pergamum was a center of emperor worship]. But you ·are true to me [L hold fast to my name]. You did not ·refuse to tell about [deny] your faith in me even during the time of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed ·in your city [L among you; C we know nothing further about Antipas], where Satan lives.
14 “But I have a few things against you: You have some there who follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak how to ·cause the people of Israel to sin [L put a stumbling block before the children of Israel] by eating food offered to idols and by taking part in sexual sins [Num. 22—24; 31:8; Deut. 23:4–5; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11]. 15 You also have some who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans [see 2:6]. 16 So ·change your hearts and lives [repent]. If you do not, I will come to you quickly and ·fight [make war] against them with the sword that comes out of my mouth [C the judgment he enacts by merely speaking; 1:16].
17 “Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches.
“I will give some of the hidden manna [C perhaps alluding to a Jewish tradition that the manna placed in the ark is hidden until the messianic age; ultimately referring to the spiritual life Christ provides; John 6:32–35] to everyone who ·wins the victory [overcomes; conquers]. I will also give to each one who ·wins the victory [overcomes; conquers] a white stone with a new name written on it [C an unknown cultural image, which, along with the manna, points to salvation in Christ]. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it [C the name could be God’s or Christ’s, but more likely refers to a new name given to the people of God].
To the Church in Thyatira
18 “Write this to the ·angel [messenger; see 1:20] of the church in ·Thyatira [C a small city in western Asia Minor]:
“The Son of God, who has eyes that blaze like fire [1:14] and feet like shining bronze [1:15; C the resurrected Jesus], says ·this [L these things]: 19 I know ·what you do [your works]. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your ·patience [endurance; perseverance]. I know that ·you are doing more now than you did at first [L your last works are greater than the first].
20 “But I have this against you: You ·let that woman Jezebel spread false teachings [L tolerate the woman Jezebel; C probably the leader of the Nicolaitans, here given the name of the notorious Baal-worshiping queen; 1 Kin. 16:31–34; 21:25–26; 2 Kin. 9:22]. She ·says she is [calls herself] a prophetess, but ·by her teaching she leads [teaches and misleads/deceives] my ·people [L servants] to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols. 21 I have given her time to ·change her heart and turn away from her sin [repent of her sexual immorality], but she does not want to ·change [repent]. 22 ·So [L Look!] I will throw her on ·a bed of suffering [or a sickbed; C the bed used for sexual sin is now a bed of suffering]. And all those who take part in adultery with her will suffer greatly if they do not ·turn away from the wrongs she does [repent of her works/deeds]. 23 I will also kill her ·followers [L children]. Then all the churches will know I am the One who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you for ·what you have done [your works/deeds].
24 “But ·others [the rest] of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching and have not learned what some call Satan’s deep secrets. I say to you that I will not put any other ·load [burden] on you. 25 Only ·continue in your loyalty [L hold fast to what you have] until I come.
26 “I will give ·power [authority] over the nations to everyone who ·wins the victory [overcomes; conquers] and ·continues to be obedient to me [or keeps working for me; L keeps/obeys my works] until the end.
27 ‘·You [L he; C the one who overcomes] will ·rule over [L shepherd] them with an iron ·rod [or scepter],
·as when pottery is broken into pieces [or and will break them into pieces like pottery; Ps. 2:9].’
28 This is the same ·power [authority] I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star [C usually the planet Venus as seen before sunrise, but here symbolically Christ at his return; 22:16; Num. 24:17; 2 Pet. 1:19]. 29 Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 2
Legacy Standard Bible
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in (A)Ephesus write:
This is what the One who holds (B)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks [a](C)among the seven golden lampstands, says:
2 ‘(D)I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot bear with those who are evil, and you (E)put to the test those who call themselves (F)apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have [b]endured (G)for My name’s sake, you also have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have (H)left your first love. 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and (I)repent and (J)do the [c]deeds you did at first. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your (K)lampstand out of its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the (L)Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 (M)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (N)To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of (O)the tree of life which is in the (P)Paradise of God.’
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “And to the angel of the church in (Q)Smyrna write:
(R)This is what the first and the last, who [d](S)was dead, and has come to life, says:
9 ‘I know your (T)tribulation and your (U)poverty (but you are (V)rich), and the blasphemy by those who (W)say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of (X)Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be (Y)tested, and you will have tribulation (Z)for ten days. [e]Be (AA)faithful until death, and I will give you (AB)the crown of life. 11 (AC)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (AD)He who overcomes will never be hurt by the (AE)second death.’
To the Church in Pergamum
12 “And to the angel of the church in (AF)Pergamum write:
This is what the One who has (AG)the sharp two-edged sword says:
13 ‘I know where you dwell, where (AH)Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny (AI)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My (AJ)witness, My (AK)faithful one, who was killed among you, (AL)where Satan dwells. 14 But (AM)I have a few things against you, that you have there some who hold the (AN)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, (AO)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the (AP)Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore (AQ)repent. But if not, (AR)I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with (AS)the sword of My mouth. 17 (AT)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (AU)To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden (AV)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a (AW)new name written on the stone (AX)which no one knows but he who receives it.’
To the Church in Thyatira
18 “And to the angel of the church in (AY)Thyatira write:
(AZ)This is what the Son of God, the One (BA)who has [f]eyes like a flame of fire and His feet are like burnished bronze, says:
19 ‘(BB)I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your last deeds are greater than [g]at first. 20 But (BC)I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman (BD)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and deceives My slaves so that they (BE)commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 (BF)And I gave her time to repent, and she (BG)does not wish to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her [h]on a bed of sickness, and those who (BH)commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of [i]her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with [j]pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who (BI)searches the [k]minds and hearts; and (BJ)I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 But I say to you, the rest who are in (BK)Thyatira, who do not have this teaching, who have not known the (BL)deep things of Satan, as they call them—I (BM)place no other burden on you. 25 Nevertheless (BN)what you have, hold fast (BO)until I come. 26 (BP)And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds (BQ)until the end, (BR)to him I will give authority over the [l]nations; 27 and he shall [m](BS)rule them with a rod of iron, (BT)as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him (BU)the morning star. 29 (BV)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Footnotes
- Revelation 2:1 Lit in the middle of
- Revelation 2:3 Lit bear up, cf. 2:2
- Revelation 2:5 Lit first deeds
- Revelation 2:8 Lit became
- Revelation 2:10 Or Prove yourself faithful
- Revelation 2:18 Lit His eyes
- Revelation 2:19 Lit the first
- Revelation 2:22 Lit into
- Revelation 2:22 One early ms their
- Revelation 2:23 Lit death
- Revelation 2:23 Inner man; lit kidneys
- Revelation 2:26 Or Gentiles
- Revelation 2:27 Lit shepherd
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