Revelation 2:20-29

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ¹  woman ²  Jezebel, ³  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ⁴  my servants ⁵  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ⁶  2:21 I ⁷  have given her time to repent, but ⁸  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ⁹  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ¹⁰  unless they repent of her deeds. 2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ¹¹  with a deadly disease, ¹²  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ¹³  each one of you ¹⁴  what your deeds deserve. ¹⁵  2:24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching ¹⁶  (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸  and who continues in ¹⁹  my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations ²⁰  –

2:27 he ²¹  will rule ²²  them with an iron rod ²³ 

and like clay jars he will break them to pieces, ²⁴ 

2:28 just as I have received the right to rule ²⁵  from my Father – and I will give him the morning star. ²⁶  2:29 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

[2:20]  ¹ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ¹⁴ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[2:24]  ¹⁶ sn That is, the teaching of Jezebel (v. 20).

[2:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “deep things.” For the translation “deep secrets” see L&N 28.76; cf. NAB, NIV, CEV.

[2:26]  ¹⁸ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[2:26]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “over the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[2:27]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:27]  ²² tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[2:27]  ²³ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[2:27]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.”