To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden {Greek: lampstands.}candlesticks:
I know thy works, and thy toil and {Or, stedfastness}patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false;
and thou hast {Or, stedfastness}patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary.
But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy {Greek: lampstands.}candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the {Or, garden: as in Genesis 2:8.}Paradise of God.
And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These things saith the first and the last, who {Greek: became.}was dead, and lived again:
I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the {Or, reviling}blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; {Some ancient authorities read and may have.}and ye shall have {Greek: a tribulation of ten days.}tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword:
I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days {The Greek text here is somewhat uncertain.}of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.
Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass:
I know thy works, and thy love and faith and ministry and {Or, stedfastness}patience, and that thy last works are more than the first.
But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest {Many authorities, some ancient read thy wife}the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my {Greek: bondservants.}servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication.
Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of {Many ancient authorities read their.}her works.
And I will kill her children with {Or, pestilence}death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works.
But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many as have not this teaching, who know not the deep things of Satan, as they are wont to say; I cast upon you none other burden.
Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come.
And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the {Or, Gentiles}nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of {Or, iron;as vessels of the potter, are they broken}iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father:
and I will give him the morning star.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
Querverweise zu Offenbarung 2,20 Off 2,20
But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife {Hebrew: Izabel.}Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice;
And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son.
And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab:
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
for they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time.
but that we {Or, enjoin them}write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood.
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
So she wrote {Or, a letter}letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth {Or, at the head of}on high among the people:
and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst {Or, renounce}curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth {Or, at the head of}on high among the people.
And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did {Or, renounce}curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.
And of Jezebel also spake Jehovah, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat.
(But there was none like unto Ahab, who did sell himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
For if a man see thee who hast knowledge sitting at meat in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, {Greek: be builded up.}be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
For {Greek: in.}through thy knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
And thus, sinning against the brethren, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, ye sin against Christ.
And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, at the hand of Jezebel.
Behold Israel after the flesh: have not they that eat the sacrifices communion with the altar?
What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have communion with demons.
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons.
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window.
And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, {Or, Is it well}Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy master's murderer?
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trod her under foot.
And when he was come in, he did eat and drink; and he said, See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter.
And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
Wherefore they came back, and told him. And he said, This is the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel;
and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
But if any man say unto you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience' sake: