Apocalypse 2:20

Louis Segond

Mais ce que j'ai contre toi, c'est que tu laisses la femme Jézabel, qui se dit prophétesse, enseigner et séduire mes serviteurs, pour qu'ils se livrent à l'impudicité et qu'ils mangent des viandes sacrifiées aux idoles.

Parallel Translations

La Bible David Martin (1744)
Mais j'ai quelque peu de chose contre toi : c'est que tu souffres que [cette] femme J�zabel, qui se dit proph�tesse, enseigne, et qu'elle s�duise mes serviteurs, pour les porter � la fornication, et pour [leur faire] manger des choses sacrifi�es aux idoles.

La Bible Ostervald (1996)
Mais j'ai quelque peu de chose contre toi, c'est que tu souffres que la femme J�sabel, qui se dit proph�tesse, enseigne et s�duise mes serviteurs, pour les engager dans la fornication, et leur faire manger des choses sacrifi�es aux idoles.

Darby's French Translation
Mais j'ai contre toi, que tu laisses faire la femme J�sabel qui se dit proph�tesse; et elle enseigne et �gare mes esclaves en les entra�nant � commettre la fornication et � manger des choses sacrifi�es aux idoles.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I have: Revelation 2:4, Revelation 2:14

that woman: 1 Kings 16:31, 1 Kings 17:4, 1 Kings 17:13, 1 Kings 19:1, 1 Kings 19:2, 1 Kings 21:7-15, 1 Kings 21:23-25, 2 Kings 9:7, 2 Kings 9:30-37

and to seduce: Revelation 2:14, Exodus 34:15, Numbers 25:1, Numbers 25:2, Acts 15:20, Acts 15:29, 1 Corinthians 8:10-12, 1 Corinthians 10:18-21, 1 Corinthians 10:28

Reciprocal: Leviticus 14:40 - take away 1 Samuel 2:24 - ye make 1 Kings 18:19 - eat at Jezebel's table 2 Kings 9:22 - the whoredoms 2 Kings 10:6 - your master's sons 2 Kings 21:9 - seduced 2 Chronicles 21:11 - caused 2 Chronicles 24:7 - that wicked Proverbs 7:13 - she Ezekiel 13:10 - seduced Ezekiel 13:17 - out of Daniel 11:34 - cleave Hosea 2:5 - their mother Micah 1:13 - she Micah 6:16 - the works Matthew 5:19 - shall teach Matthew 13:25 - men Matthew 18:7 - but Matthew 22:10 - both Mark 10:21 - One thing Luke 17:1 - It is Acts 21:9 - which 1 Corinthians 5:2 - might 1 Corinthians 5:11 - fornicator 2 Corinthians 2:17 - which 2 Corinthians 11:13 - false 2 Corinthians 11:29 - and I burn Galatians 1:7 - pervert Galatians 3:1 - who 1 Timothy 1:3 - charge 2 Timothy 3:8 - resist Titus 2:3 - teachers Hebrews 12:16 - any fornicator Revelation 2:2 - how

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee,.... By way of complaint; so the Arabic version renders it, "I have a certain complaint against thee". The impartiality of Christ may be observed in taking notice of the bad deeds, as well as of the good ones of his people, and his tenderness in representing them as few; and these things he had against them not in a judicial way to their condemnation, but in a providential way, in order to chastise them for them, for their good; and they are as follow:

because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel; or "thy wife Jezebel", as the Complutensian edition and Syriac version read; the name of King Ahab's wife, who seduced him, in the Hebrew language is "Izebel", but is read by the Septuagint in 1 Kings 16:31, Jezebel, as here; and by Josephus a Jezabela; she had her name from זבל, "Zebel", "dung", to which Elijah has reference in 2 Kings 9:37; the Ethiopic version calls her "Elzabel". By her is meant the apostate church of Rome, comparable to Jezebel, the wife of Ahab; as she was the daughter of an Heathen, so is Rome Papal the daughter of Rome Pagan; and as she was the wife of Ahab, and therefore a queen, so the whore of Babylon calls herself; and as Jezebel was famous for her paintings, so the church of Rome for her pretensions to religion and holiness, and for the gaudiness of her worship; and as she was remarkable for her idolatry, whoredoms, witchcrafts, and cruel persecution of the prophets of the Lord, and for murder, and innocent blood she shed; so the church of Rome, for her idolatrous worship of images, for her whoredoms, both in a literal and spiritual sense, and for the witchcrafts, magic, and devilish arts many of her popes have been addicted to, and especially for her barbarities and cruelties exercised upon the true professors of Christ, and for the blood of the martyrs, with which she has been drunk; and as Jezebel stirred up Ahab against good and faithful men, is has this church stirred up the secular powers, emperors, kings, and princes, against the true followers of Christ: and the end of both of them is much alike; as scarce anything was left of Jezebel, so Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, shall be cast into the sea, and be found no more at all: compare 2 Kings 9:7 with Revelation 17:1;

which calleth herself a prophetess; as perhaps Jezebel might do, since she was such a favourer of the prophets of Baal, and so familiarly conversed with them, and kept them, even a hundred of them, at her table: and certain it is, that the antitype of her pretends to an infallible interpretation of the Scriptures, and to have a bulk of unwritten traditions; and which interpretations and traditions are to be regarded as an infallible rule of faith and practice. Now what is complained of in the true members and followers of Christ is, that they suffered this woman

to teach; when it was insufferable for a woman to teach, and especially such a strumpet:

and to seduce my servants to commit fornication; to deceive such who called themselves the servants of Christ, and draw them into the commission of spiritual fornication, which is idolatry; as the idolatrous worship of the Mass, and of images and saints departed:

and to eat things sacrificed unto idols; as Balaam, or the pope, before had done, Revelation 2:14. This may have respect to the latter part of this period, when the eyes of many began to be opened to see these false doctrines and idolatrous practices, and yet had not courage enough to oppose them as they should.

a Antiqu. l. 8. c. 13. sect. 1. 4, 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee - Compare notes on Revelation 2:4.

Because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel - Thou dost tolerate, or countenance her. Compare the notes on Revelation 2:14. Who the individual here referred to by the name Jezebel was, is not known. It is by no means probable that this was her real name, but seems to have been given to her as expressive of her character and influence. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab; a woman of vast influence over her husband - an influence which was uniformly exerted for evil. She was a daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon, and lived about 918 years before Christ. She was an idolater, and induced her weak husband not only to connive at her introducing the worship of her native idols, but to become an idolater himself, and to use all the means in his power to establish the worship of idols instead of the worship of the true God. She was highly gifted, persuasive, and artful; was resolute in the accomplishment of her purposes; ambitious of extending and perpetuating her power, and unscrupulous in the means which she employed to execute her designs. See 1 Kings 16:31 ff.

The kind of character, therefore, which would be designated by the term as used here, would be that of a woman who was artful and persuasive in her manner; who was capable of exerting a wide influence over others; who had talents of a high order; who was a thorough advocate of error; who was unscrupulous in the means which she employed for accomplishing her ends; and the tendency of whose influence was to lead the people into the abominable practices of idolatry. The opinions which she held, and the practices into which she led others, appear to have been the same which are referred to in Revelation 2:6 and Revelation 2:14-15 of this chapter. The difference was, that the teacher in this case was a woman - a circumstance which by no means lessened the enormity of the offence; for, besides the fact that it was contrary to the whole genius of Christianity that a woman should be a public teacher, there was a special incongruity that she should be an advocate of such abominable opinions and practices. Every sentiment of our nature makes us feel that it is right to expect that if a woman teaches at all in a public manner, she should inculcate only what is true and holy - she should be an advocate of a pure life. We are shocked; we feel that there is a violation of every principle of our nature, and an insult done to our common humanity, if it is otherwise. We have in a manner become accustomed to the fact that man should be a teacher of pollution and error, so that we do not shrink from it with horror; we never can be reconciled to the fact that a woman should.

Which calleth herself a prophetess - Many persons set up the claim to be prophets in the times when the gospel was first preached, and it is not improbable that many females would lay claim to such a character, after the example of Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, etc.

To teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication - Compare Revelation 2:14. Whether she herself practiced what she taught is not expressly affirmed, but seems to be implied in Revelation 2:22. It is not often that persons teach these doctrines without practicing what they teach; and the fact that they desire and design to live in this manner will commonly account for the fact that they inculcate such views.

And to eat things sacrificed unto idols - See the notes on Revelation 2:14. The custom of attending on the festivals of idols led commonly to licentiousness, and they who were gross and sensual in their lives were fit subjects to be persuaded to attend on idol feasts - for nowhere else would they find more unlimited toleration for the indulgence of their passions.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 2:20. That woman Jezebel — There is an allusion here to the history of Ahab and Jezebel, as given in 2 Kings 9:1-36; and although we do not know who this Jezebel was, yet from the allusion we may take it for granted she was a woman of power and influence in Thyatira, who corrupted the true religion, and harassed the followers of God in that city, as Jezebel did in Israel. Instead of that woman Jezebel, την γυναικα ιεζαβηλ, many excellent MSS., and almost all the ancient versions, read την γυναικα σου ιεζαβηλ, THY WIFE Jezebel; which intimates, indeed asserts, that this bad woman was the wife of the bishop of the Church, and his criminality in suffering her was therefore the greater. This reading Griesbach has received into the text. She called herself a prophetess, i.e., set up for a teacher; taught the Christians that fornication, and eating things offered to idols, were matters of indifference, and thus they were seduced from the truth. But it is probable that by fornication here is meant idolatry merely, which is often its meaning in the Scriptures. It is too gross to suppose that the wife of the bishop of this Church could teach fornication literally. The messenger or bishop of this Church, probably her husband, suffered this: he had power to have cast her and her party out of the Church, or, as his wife, to have restrained her; but he did not do it, and thus she had every opportunity of seducing the faithful. This is what Christ had against the messenger of this Church.