the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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New Living Translation
Revelation 2:9
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'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I know your terrible struggles and the poverty in which you've lived. Your poverty has made you rich with me. I have heard all the sorry things that have been said of you. They claim to be Jews, but their church belongs to Satan, not God.
I have knowledge of your troubles and how poor you are (but you have true wealth), and the evil words of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a Synagogue of Satan.
I know thy tribulation and thy poverty; but thou art rich; and the railing of those who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but a synagogue of Satan.
"I know your oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I know thy affliction and poverty, (but thou art rich) and the reviling of those who say they are Jews and are not, but a synagogue of Satan.
Your sufferings I know, and your poverty--but you are rich--and the evil name given you by those who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but are Satan's synagogue.
I know thy works, and tribulation, and pouertie, but thou art rich, and I know the blasphemie of them which say they are Iewes and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan.
I know your works, and the affliction, and the poverty; but you are rich. And I know the evil speaking of those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I knowe thy workes and tribulacion and pouerte, but thou art ryche: And I knowe the blaspheny of them which call them selues Iewes and are not: but are the cogregacion of Sathan.
"I know thy works, thy tribulation and poverty (tho' thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of satan.
"I can see your pain and poverty—constant pain, dire poverty—but I also see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan's crowd.
'I know your suffering and your poverty (but you are rich), and how you are blasphemed and slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan [they are Jews only by blood, and do not believe and truly honor the God whom they claim to worship].
I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
"'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I knowe thy workes and tribulacion and poverte but thou art ryche: And I knowe the blaspemy of them whiche call them selves Iewes and are not: but are the congregacio of sathan.
I know your tribulation, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan.
I have known thy works, and tribulation, and poverty -- yet thou art rich -- and the evil-speaking of those saying themselves to be Jews, and are not, but [are] a synagogue of the Adversary.
I know your troubles and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan.
‘I know the distress you are suffering and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know the slander against you by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I 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.
I know how much you suffer and how poor you are, but you are rich. I also know the cruel things being said about you by people who claim to be Jews. But they are not really Jews. They are a group that belongs to Satan.
"I know how you are suffering and how poor you are (though in fact you are rich!), and I know the insults of those who call themselves Jews but aren't — on the contrary, they are a synagogue of the Adversary.
"‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I knowe thy workes and tribulation, and pouertie (but thou art riche) and I knowe the blasphemie of them, which say they are Iewes, and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan.
I know your works and your suffering and poverty, but you are rich, and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan.
I know your affliction and poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
"I know your oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Yehudim, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Hasatan.
'I know your suffering, your poverty - though you are rich - and the slander on the part of those who claim to be Jews but aren't. They are the synagogue of Satan.Luke 12:21; Romans 2:17,28-29; 9:6; 1 Timothy 6:18; James 2:5; Revelation 2:2; 3:9;">[xr]
I know thy works, and affliction, and poverty, but thou art rich; and the blasphemy of them who say of themselves that they are Jihudoyee, and are not, but the synagogue of Satana.
I know thy works, and the affliction, and the poverty, (yet thou art rich;) and the railing which is from them who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are of the congregation of Satan.
"I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I know of your troubles. I know you are poor. But still you are rich! I know the bad things spoken against you by those who say they are Jews. But they are not Jews. They belong to the devil.
I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
"I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I know thy tribulation, and destitution, nevertheless, thou art, rich, and the profane speech from among them who affirm that they themselves are, Jews, and they are not, but a synagogue of Satan.
I know thy tribulation and thy poverty: but thou art rich. And thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
I 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.
‘I know your affliction and poverty (but you are rich), and the slander of those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I knowe thy workes, and tribulation, and pouertie: but thou art riche. And I know the blasphemie of them which cal them selues Iewes, and are not, but (are) the synagogue of Satan.
"I know your troubles, and I know that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the insults you have suffered from people who say they are Jews. But they are not true Jews. They are a group that belongs to Satan.
'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
I know your troubles; I know that you are poor—but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan!
Y woot thi tribulacioun, and thi pouert, but thou art riche; and thou art blasfemyd of hem, that seien, that thei ben Jewis, and ben not, but ben the synagoge of Sathanas.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
know: Revelation 2:2
tribulation: Revelation 7:14, John 16:33, Acts 14:22, Romans 5:3, Romans 8:35, Romans 12:12, 1 Thessalonians 3:4, 2 Thessalonians 1:6, 2 Thessalonians 1:7
poverty: Luke 4:18, Luke 6:20, 2 Corinthians 8:2, 2 Corinthians 8:9, James 2:5, James 2:6
thou art: Revelation 3:17, Revelation 3:18, Luke 12:21, 2 Corinthians 6:10, 1 Timothy 6:18, James 2:5, James 2:6
the blasphemy: Luke 22:65, Acts 26:11, 1 Timothy 1:13
which: Romans 2:17, Romans 2:28, Romans 2:29, Romans 9:6
the synagogue: Revelation 3:9
Reciprocal: 1 Kings 18:18 - in that ye have Proverbs 13:7 - that maketh himself poor Isaiah 48:1 - which are Isaiah 66:18 - I know Matthew 6:20 - General Mark 10:30 - an hundredfold John 10:14 - know 1 Corinthians 8:3 - is 2 Corinthians 11:13 - false Philippians 3:2 - the Hebrews 11:26 - greater James 1:9 - in 2 Peter 2:1 - even 3 John 1:2 - even Revelation 1:9 - companion Revelation 2:10 - ye shall Revelation 2:13 - know Revelation 2:19 - know Revelation 12:9 - and Satan
Cross-References
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.
The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die."
"It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'"
For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.'
Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.
I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.
"You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,' you said. But your ‘wisdom' and ‘knowledge' have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.'
I made the nations shake with fear at the sound of its fall, for I sent it down to the grave with all the others who descend to the pit. And all the other proud trees of Eden, the most beautiful and the best of Lebanon, the ones whose roots went deep into the water, took comfort to find it there with them in the depths of the earth.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
I know thy works,.... Good works, as before in Revelation 2:2;
and tribulation; this is Christ's legacy to his people, and which lies in their way to heaven; and never was the way of any to heaven more strewed with it than was the way of the saints in this period. But Christ took notice of it, and of them in it; he knew their souls in adversity, and remarked their patience under it, and their constancy, and close adherence to him:
and poverty; which was true in a literal sense, through the spoiling of their goods, to which they were exposed for the profession of Christ: nothing is more contemptible among men than poverty, yet Christ takes notice of it, and owns his people in it; for this poverty came not by sin, but by sufferings for his sake:
but thou art rich; they were rich, in faith, and heirs of a kingdom, though poor in this world; they were rich with the riches of Christ, with the blessings of the covenant, with the graces of the Spirit, and in good works; they were kings and priests unto God, had a kingdom of grace here, and a right to the kingdom of glory hereafter; and were heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
And [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not; who asserted themselves to be the true Israel of God, Jews that were so inwardly, regenerate persons, or truly Christians; for the Christians, baptized persons m, were by the Heathens called Jews; but these were not, they professed Christianity in words, but in works denied it; they were men of bad principles and practices, and both blasphemed the ways and doctrines of Christ themselves, and caused them to be blasphemed by others also; they were false Christians, nominal professors, and shunned persecution for the Gospel; who were not what they would be thought to be: these were the broachers of heresies in this period of time, in which there was a multitude of them, and which chiefly respected the doctrine of the Trinity, and the person of Christ; and they were introducers of Pagan and Jewish rites into the church, and were men of flagitious lives and conversations, and paved the way for the man of sin:
but [are] the synagogue of Satan: were the children of the devil, imitated him, and were influenced by him, and were the forerunners of antichrist, whose coming was after the working of Satan.
m Vid. Arrian. Epictet. l. 2. c. 9.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
I know thy works - The uniform method of introducing these epistles, implying a most intimate acquaintance with all that pertained to the church. See the notes on Revelation 2:2.
And tribulation - This word is of a general signification, and probably includes all that they suffered in any form, whether from persecution, poverty, or the blasphemy of opposers.
And poverty - It would seem that this church, at that time, was eminently poor, for this is not specified in regard to any one of the others. No reason is suggested why they were particularly poor. It was not, indeed, an uncommon characteristic of early Christians (compare 1 Corinthians 1:26-28), but there might have Been some special reasons why that church was eminently so. It is, however, the only church of the seven which has survived, and perhaps in the end its poverty was no disadvantage.
But thou art rich - Not in this world’s goods, but in a more important respect - in the grace and favor of God. These things are not infrequently united. Poverty is no hindrance to the favor of God, and there are some things in it which are favorable to the promotion of a right spirit toward God which are not found where there is abundant wealth. The Saviour was eminently poor, and not a few of his most devoted and useful followers have had as little of this world’s goods as he had. The poor should always be cheerful and happy, if they can hear their Saviour saying unto them, “I know thy poverty - but thou art rich.” However keen the feeling arising from the reflection “I am a poor man,” the edge of the sorrow is taken off if the mind can be turned to a brighter image - “but thou art rich.”
And I know the blasphemy - The reproaches; the harsh and bitter revilings. On the word “blasphemy,” see the notes on Matthew 9:3; Matthew 26:65. The word here does not seem to refer to blasphemy against God, but to bitter reproaches against themselves. The reason of these reproaches is not stated, but it was doubtless on account of their religion.
Of them which say they are Jews - Who profess to be Jews. The idea seems to be that though they were of Jewish extraction, and professed to be Jews, they were not true Jews; they indulged in a bitterness of reproach, and a severity of language, which showed that they had not the spirit of the Jewish religion; they had nothing which became those who were under the guidance of the spirit of their own Scriptures. That would have inculcated and fostered a milder temper; and the meaning here is, that although they were of Jewish origin, they were not worthy of the name. That spirit of bitter opposition was indeed often manifested in their treatment of Christians, as it had been of the Saviour, but still it was foreign to the true nature of their religion. There were Jews in all parts of Asia Minor, and the apostles often encountered them in their journeyings, but it would seem that there was something which had particularly embittered those of Smyrna against Christianity. What this was is now unknown.
It may throw some light on the passage, however, to remark that at a somewhat later period - in the time of the martyrdom of Polycarp - the Jews of Smyrna were among the most bitter of the enemies of Christians, and among the most violent in demanding the death of Polycarp. Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 4:15) says,. that when Polycarp was apprehended, and brought before the proconsul at Smyrna, the Jews were the most furious of all in demanding his condemnation. When the mob, after his condemnation to death, set about gathering fuel to burn him, “the Jews,” says he, “being especially zealous, as was their custom - μάλιστα προθύμως, ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς malista prothumōs, hōs ethos autois - ran to procure fuel.” And when, as the burning failed, the martyr was transfixed with weapons, the Jews urged and besought the magistrate that his body might not be given up to Christians. Possibly at the time when this epistle was directed to be sent to Smyrna, there were Jews there who manifested the same spirit which those of their countrymen did afterward, who urged on the death of Polycarp.
But are the synagogue of Satan - Deserve rather to be called the synagogue of Satan. The synagogue was a Jewish place of worship (compare the notes on Matthew 4:23), but the word originally denoted “the assembly” or “the congregation.” The meaning here is plain, that though they worshipped in a synagogue, and professed to be the worshippers of God, yet they were not worthy of the name, and deserved rather to be regarded as in the service of Satan. “Satan” is the word that is properly applied to the great evil spirit, elsewhere called the devil. See the Luke 22:3 note, and Job 1:6 note.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Revelation 2:9. I know thy works — As he had spoken to the preceding Church, so he speaks to this: I know all that ye have done, and all that ye have suffered. The tribulation here mentioned must mean persecution, either from the Jews, the heathens, or from the heretics, who, because of their flesh-pampering doctrines might have had many partisans at Smyrna.
And poverty — Stripped probably of all their temporal possessions, because of their attachment to the Gospel.
But thou art rich — Rich in faith, and heir of the kingdom of Christ.
The blasphemy of them which say they are Jews — There were persons there who professed Judaism, and had a synagogue in the place, and professed to worship the true God; but they had no genuine religion, and they served the devil rather than God. They applied a sacred name to an unholy thing: and this is one meaning of the word blasphemy in this book.
