Revelation 2:1–11

To the Church in Ephesus

2“To the angel^a of the church in Ephesus^p write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand^q and walks among the seven golden lampstands.^{r 2}I know your deeds,^s your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested^t those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.^{u 3}You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name,^v and have not grown weary.

⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.^{w 5}Consider how far you have fallen! Repent^x and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand^y from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,^z which I also hate.

⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear^a what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious,^b I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,^c which is in the paradise^d of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸“To the angel of the church in Smyrna^e write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last,^f who died and came to life again.^{g 9}I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!^h I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not,ⁱ but are a synagogue of Satan.^{j 10}Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you,^k and you will suffer persecution for ten days.^l Be faithful,^m even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.ⁿ

¹¹Whoever has ears, let them hear^o what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.^p