Revelation 2:9-14

2:9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering ¹  and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know ²  the slander against you ³  by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue ⁴  of Satan. 2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown ⁵  into prison so you may be tested, ⁶  and you will experience suffering ⁷  for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. ⁸  2:11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers ⁹  will in no way be harmed by the second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

2:12 “To ¹⁰  the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following: ¹¹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹²  the one who has the sharp double-edged sword: ¹³  2:13 ‘I know ¹⁴  where you live – where Satan’s throne is. Yet ¹⁵  you continue to cling ¹⁶  to my name and you have not denied your ¹⁷  faith in me, ¹⁸  even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, ¹⁹  who was killed in your city ²⁰  where Satan lives. 2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ²¹  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ²²  before the people ²³  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ²⁴ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Or “know your suffering.” This could refer to suffering or distress caused by persecution (see L&N 22.2).

[2:9]  ² 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]  ³ tn The words “against you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[2:9]  ⁴ 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).

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Or “tempted.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”

[2:11]  ⁹ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[2:12]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:12]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:12]  ¹⁶ sn On the sharp double-edged sword see 1:16.

[2:13]  ¹⁷ tc The shorter reading adopted here has superior ms support (א A C P 2053 al latt co), while the inclusion of “your works and” (τὰ ἔργα σου καί, ta erga sou kai) before “where you reside” is supported by the Byzantine witnesses and is evidently a secondary attempt to harmonize the passage with 2:2, 19; 3:1, 8, 15.

[2:13]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.

[2:13]  ¹⁹ tn The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (kratei") has been translated as a progressive present.

[2:13]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, thn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.

[2:13]  ²² tn Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”

[2:13]  ²³ tn Grk “killed among you.” The term “city” does not occur in the Greek text of course, but the expression παρ᾿ ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ (par’ Jumin, {opou Jo satana" katoikei) seems to indicate that this is what is meant. See G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 36-38.

[2:14]  ²¹ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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.”