| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: | 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. |
| 2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. | 2I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles. |
| 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. | 3Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name. |
| 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! | 4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. |
| 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. | 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. |
| 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. | 6But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. |
| 7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God. The Message to the Church in Smyrna | 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God. |
| 8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: | 8To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life. |
| 9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. | 9I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan. |
| 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. | 10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. |
| 11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death. The Message to the Church in Pergamum | 11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death. |
| 12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: | 12To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword. |
| 13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city. | 13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells. |
| 14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. | 14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. |
| 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. | 15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. |
| 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. | 16Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. |
| 17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. The Message to the Church in Thyatira | 17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it. |
| 18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze: | 18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze. |
| 19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. | 19I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latter deeds are greater than your first. |
| 20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. | 20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. |
| 21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality. | 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling. |
| 22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. | 22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds. |
| 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. | 23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. |
| 24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you | 24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no further burden upon you. |
| 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. | 25Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come. |
| 26 To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. | 26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. |
| 27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. | 27He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father. |
| 28 They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star! | 28And I will give him the morning star. |
| 29 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. | 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. |
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