^2:10Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown³² into prison so you may be tested,³³ and you will experience suffering³⁴ for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.³⁵^2:11The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers³⁶ will in no way be harmed by the second death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

^2:12“To³⁷ the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following:³⁸

“This is the solemn pronouncement of³⁹ the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:⁴⁰^2:13‘I know⁴¹ where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet⁴² you continue to cling⁴³ to my name and you have not denied your⁴⁴ faith in me,⁴⁵ even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,⁴⁶ who was killed in your city⁴⁷ where Satan lives. ^2:14But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam,⁴⁸ who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block⁴⁹ before the people⁵⁰ of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.⁵¹^2:15In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.⁵²^2:16Therefore,⁵³ repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people⁵⁴ with the sword of my mouth. ^2:17The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,⁵⁵ I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white⁵⁶ stone,⁵⁷ and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand⁵⁸ except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

^2:18“To⁵⁹ the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following:⁶⁰

“This is the solemn pronouncement of⁶¹ the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame⁶² and whose feet are like polished bronze:⁶³^2:19‘I know your deeds: your love, faith,⁶⁴ service, and steadfast endurance.⁶⁵ In fact,⁶⁶ your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones. ^2:20But I have this against you: You tolerate that⁶⁷ woman⁶⁸ Jezebel,⁶⁹ who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives⁷⁰ my servants⁷¹ to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.⁷²^2:21I⁷³ have given her time to repent, but⁷⁴ she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. ^2:22Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness,⁷⁵ and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering,⁷⁶ unless they repent of her deeds.

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Footnotes

32 Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.
33 Or “tempted.”
34 Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).
35 Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, tēs zōēs) functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stephanon): “the crown that consists of life.”
36 Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
37 Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
38 The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
39 Grk “These things says [the One] …” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in . The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in .
40 On the sharp double-edged sword see 1:16.
41 The shorter reading adopted here has superior support (א A C P 2053 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.
42 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.
43 The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (krateis) has been translated as a progressive present.
44 Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun ( ).
45 Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, tēn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.
46 Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”
47 Grk “killed among you.” The term “city” does not occur in the Greek text of course, but the expression παρʼ ὑμῖν, ὄπου ὁ σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ (par’ humin, hopou ho satanas katoikei) seems to indicate that this is what is meant. See G. B. Caird, Revelation (), 36–38.
49 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 …”
50 Grk “sons,” but the expression υἱοὶ Ἰσραήλ (huioi Israēl) is an idiom for the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (see L&N 11.58).
51 Due to the actual events in the OT (Num 22–24; 31:16), πορνεῦσαι (porneusai) is taken to mean “sexual immorality.” πορνεύω 1 states, “engage in illicit sex, to fornicate, to whore … W. φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα ‘eat meat offered to idols’ Rv 2:14, 20.”
52 The term ὁμοίως (homoiōs, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant. See the note on the term Nicolaitans in .
53 The “therefore” (οὖν, oun) is not found in א 2053 2329 2351 𝔐A or the Latin . It is, however, included in impressive witnesses such as {A C 046 1006 1611 syp,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, metanoēson; 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.
54 Grk “with them”; the referent (those people who follow the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
55 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.
56 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).
57 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.’ ”
58 Or “know”; for the meaning “understand” see L&N 32.4.
59 Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.
60 The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.
61 Grk “These things says [the One] …” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in . The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in .
62 Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
63 The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, chalkolibanō), 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. 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.
64 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.
65 Or “perseverance.”
66 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 ). Grk “and your last deeds [that are] greater than the first.”
67 The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.
68 The evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 lat}. The evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 𝔐K sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important , along with א 𝔓47 (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.
69 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.
70 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 …”
71 See the note on the word “servants” in .
72 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.
73 Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.
74 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.
75 Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).
76 Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

Cross references

48 See Num 22–24; 31:16.