Revelation 2:6

2:6 But you do have this going for you: ¹  You hate what the Nicolaitans ²  practice ³  – practices I also hate.

Revelation 2:14-15

2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ⁴  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ⁵  before the people ⁶  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ⁷  2:15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ⁸ 

Revelation 2:20-21

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ⁹  woman ¹⁰  Jezebel, ¹¹  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ¹²  my servants ¹³  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ¹⁴  2:21 I ¹⁵  have given her time to repent, but ¹⁶  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.

Galatians 1:7

1:7 not that there really is another gospel, ¹⁷  but ¹⁸  there are some who are disturbing you and wanting ¹⁹  to distort the gospel of Christ.

Ephesians 4:14

4:14 So ²⁰  we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. ²¹ 

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ²²  urge you to live ²³  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ²⁴ 

Ephesians 5:21

5:21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²⁵ 

Ephesians 5:2

5:2 and live ²⁶  in love, just as Christ also loved us ²⁷  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ²⁸  to God.

Ephesians 2:1-3

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ²⁹  dead ³⁰  in your transgressions and sins, 2:2 in which ³¹  you formerly lived ³²  according to this world’s present path, ³³  according to the ruler of the kingdom ³⁴  of the air, the ruler of ³⁵  the spirit ³⁶  that is now energizing ³⁷  the sons of disobedience, ³⁸  2:3 among whom ³⁹  all of us ⁴⁰  also ⁴¹  formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath ⁴²  even as the rest… ⁴³ 

Ephesians 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ⁴⁴  dead ⁴⁵  in your transgressions and sins,

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁴⁶  urge you to live ⁴⁷  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁴⁸ 

[2:6]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn The expression τὰ ἔργα τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν (ta erga twn Nikolaitwn) has been translated as a subjective genitive.

[2:14]  ⁴ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁷ tn The term ὁμοίως (Jomoiws, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “which is not another,” but this could be misunderstood to mean “which is not really different.” In fact, as Paul goes on to make clear, there is no other gospel than the one he preaches.

[1:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “except.”

[1:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or “trying.”

[4:14]  ¹⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ²⁰ tn While the sense of the passage is clear enough, translation in English is somewhat difficult. The Greek says: “by the trickery of men, by craftiness with the scheme of deceit.” The point is that the author is concerned about Christians growing into maturity. He is fearful that certain kinds of very cunning people, who are skilled at deceitful scheming, should come in and teach false doctrines which would in turn stunt the growth of the believers.

[4:1]  ²² tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ²³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ²⁴ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[5:21]  ²⁵ sn Eph 5:19-21. In Eph 5:18 the author gives the command to be filled by means of the Holy Spirit. In 5:19-21 there follows five participles: (1) speaking; (2) singing; (3) making music; (4) giving thanks; (5) submitting. These participles have been variously interpreted, but perhaps the two most likely interpretations are (1) the participles indicate the means by which one is filled by the Spirit; (2) the participles indicate the result of being filled by the Spirit. The fact that the participles are present tense and follow the command (i.e., “be filled”) would tend to support both of these options. But it seems out of Paul’s character to reduce the filling of the Spirit to a formula of some kind. To the extent that this is true, it is unlikely then that the author is here stating the means for being filled by the Spirit. Because it is in keeping with Pauline theology and has good grammatical support, it is better to take the participles as indicating certain results of being filled by the Spirit. See ExSyn 639.

[5:2]  ²⁸ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ²⁹ tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[2:1]  ³¹ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ³² sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[2:2]  ³⁴ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ³⁵ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ³⁶ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ³⁷ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ³⁹ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ⁴¹ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[2:3]  ³⁷ sn Among whom. The relative pronoun phrase that begins v. 3 is identical, except for gender, to the one that begins v. 2 (ἐν αἵς [en Jais], ἐν οἵς [en Jois]). By the structure, the author is building an argument for our hopeless condition: We lived in sin and we lived among sinful people. Our doom looked to be sealed as well in v. 2: Both the external environment (kingdom of the air) and our internal motivation and attitude (the spirit that is now energizing) were under the devil’s thumb (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).

[2:3]  ³⁸ tn Grk “we all.”

[2:3]  ³⁹ tn Or “even.”

[2:3]  ⁴⁰ sn Children of wrath is a Semitic idiom which may mean either “people characterized by wrath” or “people destined for wrath.”

[2:3]  ⁴¹ sn Eph 2:1-3. The translation of vv. 1-3 is very literal, even to the point of retaining the awkward syntax of the original. See note on the word dead in 2:1.

[2:1]  ⁴⁰ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ⁴¹ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[4:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁴⁵ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.