Revelation 2:8-11

Contemporary English Version

The Letter to Smyrna

⁸^(A) This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:

I am the first and the last. I died, but now I am alive! Listen to what I say.

⁹I know how much you suffer and how poor you are, but you are rich. I also know the cruel things being said about you by people who claim to be God's people. But they are not really God's people. They are a group that belongs to Satan.

¹⁰Don't worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life.^[a]

¹¹^(B) If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death.^[b]

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Footnotes

2.10 a glorious life: The Greek text has “a crown of life.” In ancient times an athlete who had won a contest was rewarded with a crown of flowers as a sign of victory.
2.11 second death: The first death is physical death, and the “second death” is eternal death.