Revelation 2
Contemporary English Version
The Letter to Ephesus
2 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
I am the one who holds the seven stars in my right hand, and I walk among the seven gold lampstands. Listen to what I say.
2 I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won't put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out they were liars. 3 You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, yet you have not given up.
4 But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don't have as much love as you used to. 5 Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don't turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand. 6 But there is one thing you are doing right. You hate what the Nicolaitans[a] are doing, and so do I.
7 (A) If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God's wonderful garden.
The Letter to Smyrna
8 (B) 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.
9 I 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.
10 Don'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.[b]
11 (C) 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.[c]
The Letter to Pergamum
12 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Pergamum:
I am the one who has the sharp double-edged sword! Listen to what I say.
13 I know you live where Satan has his throne.[d] But you have kept true to my name. Right there where Satan lives, my faithful witness Antipas[e] was taken from you and put to death. Even then you did not give up your faith in me.
14 (D) I do have a few things against you. Some of you are following the teaching of Balaam.[f] Long ago he told Balak to teach the people of Israel to eat food that had been offered to idols and to be immoral. 15 Now some of you are following the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[g] 16 Turn back! If you don't, I will come quickly and fight against these people. And my words will cut like a sword.
17 (E) If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To everyone who wins the victory, I will give some of the hidden food.[h] I will also give each one a white stone[i] with a new name[j] written on it. No one will know that name except the one who is given the stone.
The Letter to Thyatira
18 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Thyatira:
I am the Son of God! My eyes are like flames of fire, and my feet are like bronze. Listen to what I say.
19 I know everything about you, including your love, your faith, your service, and how you have endured. I know you are doing more now than you have ever done before. 20 (F) But I still have something against you because of that woman Jezebel.[k] She calls herself a prophet, and you let her teach and mislead my servants to do immoral things and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I gave her a chance to turn from her sins, but she did not want to stop doing these immoral things.
22 I am going to strike down Jezebel. Everyone who does these immoral things with her will also be punished, if they don't stop. 23 (G) I will even kill her followers.[l] Then all the churches will see that I know everyone's thoughts and feelings. I will treat each of you as you deserve.
24 Some of you in Thyatira don't follow Jezebel's teaching. You don't know anything about what her followers call the “deep secrets of Satan.” So I won't burden you down with any other commands. 25 But until I come, you must hold firmly to the teaching you have.
26 (H) I will give power over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and keeps on obeying me until the end. 27-28 I will give each of them the same power my Father has given me. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash those nations to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.[m]
29 If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
Footnotes
- 2.6 Nicolaitans: Nothing else is known about these people, though it is possible that they claimed to be followers of Nicolaus from Antioch (see Acts 6.5).
- 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.
- 2.13 where Satan has his throne: The meaning is uncertain, but it may refer to the city as a center of pagan worship or of Emperor worship.
- 2.13 Antipas: Nothing else is known about this man, who is mentioned only here in the New Testament.
- 2.14 Balaam: According to Numbers 22–24, Balaam refused to disobey the Lord. But in other books of the Old Testament, he is spoken of as evil (see Deuteronomy 23.4,5; Joshua 13.22; 24.9,10; Nehemiah 13.2).
- 2.15 Nicolaitans: See the note at 2.6.
- 2.17 hidden food: When the people of Israel were going through the desert, the Lord provided a special food for them. Some of this was placed in a jar and stored in the sacred chest (see Exodus 16). According to later Jewish teaching, the prophet Jeremiah rescued the sacred chest when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. He hid the chest in a cave, where it would stay until God came to save his people.
- 2.17 white stone: The meaning of this is uncertain, though it may be the same as a ticket that lets a person into God's banquet where the “hidden food” is eaten. Or it may be a symbol of victory.
- 2.17 a new name: Either the name of Christ or God or the name of the follower who is given the stone.
- 2.20 Jezebel: Nothing else is known about her. This may have been her real name or a name that was given to her because she was like Queen Jezebel, who opposed the Lord (see 1 Kings 19.1,2; 21.1-26).
- 2.23 her followers: Or “her children.”
- 2.27,28 the morning star: Probably thought of as the star that signals the end of night and the beginning of day. In 22.16 Christ is called the “morning star.”
Nehemiah 3
Contemporary English Version
Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem
3 These are the people who helped rebuild the wall and gates of Jerusalem:
The high priest Eliashib and the other priests rebuilt Sheep Gate and hung its doors. Then they dedicated Sheep Gate and the section of the wall as far as Hundred Tower and Hananel Tower.
2 The people of Jericho rebuilt the next section of the wall, and Zaccur son of Imri rebuilt the section after that.
3 The family of Hassenaah built Fish Gate. They put the beams in place and hung the doors, then they added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks.
4 Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, completed the next section of the wall.
Meshullam, son of Berechiah and grandson of Meshezabel, rebuilt the next section, and Zadok son of Baana rebuilt the section beside that.
5 The next section was to be repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their town leaders refused to do the hard work they were assigned.[a]
6 Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah restored Ancient Gate. They put the beams in place, hung the doors, and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks. 7 Melatiah from Gibeon, Jadon from Meronoth, and the men from Gibeon and Mizpah rebuilt the next section of the wall. This section reached as far as the house of the governor of West Euphrates Province.[b]
8 Uzziel son of Harhaiah the goldsmith rebuilt the next section.
Hananiah the perfume maker rebuilt the section next after that, and it went as far as Broad Wall.
9 Rephaiah son of Hur ruled half of the Jerusalem District, and he rebuilt the next section of the wall.
10 The section after that was close to the home of Jedaiah son of Harumaph, and he rebuilt it.
Hattush son of Hashabneiah constructed the next section of the wall.
11 Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath Moab rebuilt the section after that, and they also built Oven Tower.
12 Shallum son of Hallohesh ruled the other half of the Jerusalem District, and he rebuilt the next section of the wall. Shallum's daughters also worked with him.
13 Hanun and the people who lived in the town of Zanoah rebuilt Valley Gate. They hung the doors and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks. They also rebuilt the wall for 440 meters, all the way to Garbage Gate.
14 Malchijah son of Rechab ruled the district of Beth-Haccherem, and he rebuilt Garbage Gate. He hung the doors and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks.
15 Shallum[c] son of Colhozeh ruled the district of Mizpah, and he rebuilt Fountain Gate. He put a cover over the gateway, then hung the doors and added metal bolts and wooden beams as locks. He also rebuilt the wall at Shelah Pool. This section was next to the king's garden and went as far as the stairs leading down from David's City.
16 Nehemiah son of Azbuk ruled half of the district of Beth-Zur, and he rebuilt the next section of the wall. It went as far as the royal cemetery,[d] the artificial pool, and the army barracks.
Levites Who Worked on the Wall
17 The Levites who worked on the next sections of the wall were Rehum son of Bani; Hashabiah, who ruled half of the district of Keilah and did this work for his district; 18 Binnui[e] son of Henadad, who ruled the other half of the district of Keilah; 19 Ezer son of Jeshua, who ruled Mizpah, rebuilt the section of the wall that was in front of the armory and reached to the corner of the wall; 20 Baruch son of Zabbai eagerly rebuilt the section of the wall that went all the way to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest; 21 Meremoth, son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, built up to the far end of Eliashib's house.
Priests Who Worked on the Wall
22 Here is a list of the priests who worked on the wall:
Priests from the region around Jerusalem rebuilt the next section of the wall.
23 Benjamin and Hasshub rebuilt the wall in front of their own houses.
Azariah, who was the son of Maaseiah and the grandson of Ananiah, rebuilt the section in front of his house.
24 Binnui son of Henadad rebuilt the section of the wall from Azariah's house to the corner of the wall.
25 Palal son of Uzai rebuilt the next section, which began at the corner of the wall and the tower of the upper palace near the court of the guard.
Pedaiah son of Parosh rebuilt the next section of the wall. 26 He stopped at a place near the Water Gate on the east and the tower guarding the temple. This was close to a section in the city called Ophel, where the temple workers lived.[f]
Other Builders Who Worked on the Wall
27 The men from Tekoa rebuilt the next section of the wall, and it was their second section.[g] It started at a place across from the large tower that guarded the Temple, and it went all the way to the wall near Ophel.
28 Some priests rebuilt the next section of the wall. They began working north of Horse Gate, and each one worked on a section in front of his own house.
29 Zadok son of Immer rebuilt the wall in front of his house.
Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, who looked after the East Gate, rebuilt the section after that.
30 Hananiah and Hanun[h] rebuilt the next section, which was the second section[i] for them.
Meshullam son of Berechiah rebuilt the next section, which happened to be in front of his house.
31 Malchijah, a goldsmith, rebuilt the next section, as far as the house used by the temple workers and merchants. This area was across from Gathering Gate, near the room on top of the wall at the northeast corner.
32 The goldsmiths and merchants rebuilt the last section of the wall, which went from the corner room all the way to Sheep Gate.
Footnotes
- 3.5 refused … assigned: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.7 as far as … Province: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.15 Shallum: A few Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation; most Hebrew manuscripts “Shallun”; one ancient translation “Solomon.”
- 3.16 royal cemetery: Hebrew “David's tombs.”
- 3.18 Binnui: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “Bavvai.”
- 3.26 This … lived: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.27 second section: See verse 5.
- 3.30 Hananiah and Hanun: Hebrew “Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, Zalaph's sixth son.”
- 3.30 second section: See verses 8,13.
Psalm 97
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Brings Justice
1 The Lord is King!
Tell the earth to celebrate
and all islands to shout.
2 Dark clouds surround him,
and his throne is supported
by justice and fairness.
3 Fire leaps from his throne,
destroying his enemies,
4 and his lightning is so bright
that the earth sees it
and trembles.
5 Mountains melt away like wax
in the presence of the Lord
of all the earth.
6 The heavens announce,
“The Lord brings justice!”
Everyone sees God's glory.
7 Those who brag about
the useless idols they worship
are terribly ashamed,
and all the false gods
bow down to the Lord.
8 When the people of Zion
and of the towns of Judah
hear that God brings justice,
they will celebrate.
9 The Lord rules the whole earth,
and he is more glorious
than all the false gods.
10 Love the Lord
and hate evil!
God protects his loyal people
and rescues them
from violence.
11 If you obey and do right,
a light will show you the way
and fill you with happiness.
12 You are the Lord's people!
So celebrate and praise
the only God.
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