| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; | 1"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. |
| 2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: | 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. |
| 3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. | 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. |
| 4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. | 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. |
| 5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. | 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. |
| 6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. | 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. |
| 7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. | 7Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. |
| 8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; | 8"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. |
| 9I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. | 9I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. |
| 10Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. | 10Do 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, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown. |
| 11He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. | 11Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. |
| 12And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; | 12"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. |
| 13I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. | 13I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives. |
| 14But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. | 14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. |
| 15So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. | 15Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. |
| 16Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. | 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. |
| 17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. | 17Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. |
| 18And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; | 18"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. |
| 19I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. | 19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. |
| 20Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. | 20Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. |
| 21And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. | 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. |
| 22Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. | 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. |
| 23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. | 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. |
| 24But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. | 24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets, 'I will not impose any other burden on you, |
| 25But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. | 25except to hold on to what you have until I come.' |
| 26And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: | 26To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-- |
| 27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. | 27that one 'will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery' --just as I have received authority from my Father. |
| 28And I will give him the morning star. | 28I will also give that one the morning star. |
| 29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. | 29Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. |
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