Revelation 2:14-29

2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ¹  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ²  before the people ³  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ⁴  2:15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ⁵  2:16 Therefore, ⁶  repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people ⁷  with the sword of my mouth. 2:17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, ⁸  I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white ⁹  stone, ¹⁰  and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand ¹¹  except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

2:18 “To ¹²  the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: ¹³ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁴  the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame ¹⁵  and whose feet are like polished bronze: ¹⁶  2:19 ‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, ¹⁷  service, and steadfast endurance. ¹⁸  In fact, ¹⁹  your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones. 2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ²⁰  woman ²¹  Jezebel, ²²  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ²³  my servants ²⁴  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²⁵  2:21 I ²⁶  have given her time to repent, but ²⁷  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ²⁸  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ²⁹  unless they repent of her deeds. 2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ³⁰  with a deadly disease, ³¹  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ³²  each one of you ³³  what your deeds deserve. ³⁴  2:24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching ³⁵  (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets ³⁶  of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you. 2:25 However, hold on to what you have until I come. 2:26 And to the one who conquers ³⁷  and who continues in ³⁸  my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations ³⁹  –

2:27 he ⁴⁰  will rule ⁴¹  them with an iron rod ⁴² 

and like clay jars he will break them to pieces, ⁴³ 

2:28 just as I have received the right to rule ⁴⁴  from my Father – and I will give him the morning star. ⁴⁵  2:29 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

[2:14]  ¹ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ² tn That is, a cause for sinning. An alternate translation is “who instructed Balak to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols…”

[2:14]  ³ tn Grk “sons,” but the expression υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ (Juioi Israhl) is an idiom for the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (see L&N 11.58).

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Due to the actual events in the OT (Num 22-24; 31:16), πορνεῦσαι (porneusai) is taken to mean “sexual immorality.” BDAG 854 s.v. πορνεύω 1 states, “engage in illicit sex, to fornicate, to whore…W. φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα ‘eat meat offered to idols’ Rv 2:14, 20.”

[2:15]  ⁵ tn The term ὁμοίως (Jomoiws, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant.

[2:16]  ⁶ tc The “therefore” (οὖν, oun) is not found in א 2053 2329 2351 Ï^A or the Latin mss. It is, however, included in impressive witnesses such as {A C 046 1006 1611 sy^p,h co}. Though the conjunction looks at first glance like a scribal clarification, its omission may be explained on the basis of its similarity to the last three letters of the verb “repent” (μετανόησον, metanohson; since οὖν is a postpositive conjunction in Greek, the final three letters of the verb [-σον, -son] would have been immediately followed by ουν). A scribe could have simply passed over the conjunction in his copy when he saw the last three letters of the imperative verb. A decision is difficult, however, because of the motivation to add to the text and the quality of witnesses that lack the conjunction.

[2:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “with them”; the referent (those people who follow the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:17]  ⁸ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.

[2:17]  ⁹ tn Or “bright.” The Greek term λευκός (leukos) can refer either to the color white (traditional here) or to an object that is bright or shining, either from itself or from an outside source of illumination (L&N 14.50; 79.27).

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn On the interpretation of the stone, L&N 2.27 states, “A number of different suggestions have been made as to the reference of ψῆφος in this context. Some scholars believe that the white ψῆφος indicates a vote of acquittal in court. Others contend that it is simply a magical amulet; still others, a token of Roman hospitality; and finally, some have suggested that it may represent a ticket to the gladiatorial games, that is to say, to martyrdom. The context, however, suggests clearly that this is something to be prized and a type of reward for those who have ‘won the victory.’”

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “know”; for the meaning “understand” see L&N 32.4.

[2:18]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:18]  ¹³ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:18]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears no where else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 1:15), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 1:15 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and faith.” Here and before the following term καί (kai) has not been translated because English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the next to last and last terms in a list.

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “perseverance.”

[2:19]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “In fact” is supplied in the translation to bring out the ascensive quality of the clause. It would also be possible to supply here an understood repetition of the phrase “I know” from the beginning of the verse (so NRSV). Grk “and your last deeds [that are] greater than the first.”

[2:20]  ²⁰ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ²¹ tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

[2:20]  ²² sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

[2:20]  ²³ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

[2:20]  ²⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ²⁵ sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

[2:21]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[2:22]  ²⁸ tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ²⁹ tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

[2:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ³² tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ³³ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³⁴ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[2:24]  ³⁵ sn That is, the teaching of Jezebel (v. 20).

[2:24]  ³⁶ tn Grk “deep things.” For the translation “deep secrets” see L&N 28.76; cf. NAB, NIV, CEV.

[2:26]  ³⁷ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[2:26]  ³⁸ tn Grk “keeps.” In a context that speaks of “holding on to what you have,” the idea here is one of continued faithful behavior (BDAG 1002 s.v. τηρέω 3 has “ὁ τηρῶν τὰ ἔργα μου the one who takes my deeds to heart Rv 2:26”).

[2:26]  ³⁹ tn Or “over the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[2:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:27]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[2:27]  ⁴² tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[2:27]  ⁴³ sn A quotation from Ps 2:9 (with the line introducing the quotation containing a partial allusion to Ps 2:8). See also Rev 12:5, 19:15.

[2:28]  ⁴⁴ tn What has been received is not specified in the Greek text, but must be supplied from the context. In the light of the two immediately preceding verses about rulership or dominion, it seems that the implied direct object of δώσω (dwsw) is “the right to rule” (i.e., ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν ποιμάνειν, ecein exousian poimanein), although many modern translations supply the word “authority” here (so NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[2:28]  ⁴⁵ tn On this expression BDAG 892 s.v. πρωϊνός states, “early, belonging to the morning ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρ. the morning star, Venus Rv 2:28; 22:16.”