Revelation 2:4

2:4 But I have this against you: You have departed ¹  from your first love!

Revelation 2:9

2:9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering ²  and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know ³  the slander against you ⁴  by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue ⁵  of Satan.

Revelation 2:6

2:6 But you do have this going for you: ⁶  You hate what the Nicolaitans ⁷  practice ⁸  – practices I also hate.

Revelation 3:4

3:4 But you have a few individuals ⁹  in Sardis who have not stained ¹⁰  their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed ¹¹  in white, because they are worthy.

Revelation 2:20

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ¹²  woman ¹³  Jezebel, ¹⁴  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ¹⁵  my servants ¹⁶  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ¹⁷ 

Revelation 17:12

17:12 The ¹⁸  ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority ¹⁹  as kings with the beast for one hour.

Revelation 3:9

3:9 Listen! ²⁰  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ²¹  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ²²  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ²³  them come and bow down ²⁴  at your feet and acknowledge ²⁵  that I have loved you.

[2:4]  ¹ tn The Greek word translated “departed from” (ἀφίημι, afihmi; L&N 15.48) can actually be used of divorce (L&N 34.78), so the imagery here is very strong.

[2:9]  ² tn Or “know your suffering.” This could refer to suffering or distress caused by persecution (see L&N 22.2).

[2:9]  ³ tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “I also know” to link this English sentence back to “I know” at the beginning of the verse.

[2:9]  ⁴ tn The words “against you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[2:9]  ⁵ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (e.g., Mt 4:23, Mk 1:21, Lk 4:15, Jn 6:59).

[2:6]  ³ tn Grk “But you do have this.” The words “going for you” are supplied to complete the English idiom; other phrases like “in your favor” (NIV) or “to your credit” (NRSV) could also be supplied.

[2:6]  ⁴ sn The Nicolaitans were a sect (sometimes associated with Nicolaus, one of the seven original deacons in the church in Jerusalem according to Acts 6:5) that apparently taught that Christians could engage in immoral behavior with impunity.

[2:6]  ⁵ tn The expression τὰ ἔργα τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν (ta erga twn Nikolaitwn) has been translated as a subjective genitive.

[3:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “a few names”; here ὄνομα (onoma) is used by figurative extension to mean “person” or “people”; according to L&N 9.19 there is “the possible implication of existence or relevance as individuals.”

[3:4]  ⁵ tn Or “soiled” (so NAB, NRSV, NIV); NCV “have kept their clothes unstained”; CEV “have not dirtied your clothes with sin.”

[3:4]  ⁶ tn The word “dressed” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[2:20]  ⁵ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ 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.

[17:12]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:12]  ⁷ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

[3:9]  ⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

[3:9]  ¹² tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”