Rev 2:1 in context
The whole interlinear chapter
Rev 1:20      Rev 2:2

Revelation 2:1

[Now follow seven letters to seven physical churches in Asia Minor, present-day western Turkey. John was well acquainted with these churches. Ephesus is the first and closest church, about 100 miles from the island of Patmos, where John had been exiled because of his faith. The churches are mentioned in the order in which a messenger would have delivered these letters.
All seven letters have the same structure. They begin with a greeting from Jesus himself, followed by encouragement, criticism, exhortation, and promises. The second and penultimate churches – Smyrna and Philadelphia – are without criticism. The fifth and seventh churches – Sardis and Laodicea – receive no encouragement. Common to the first four churches is that they fought against false teachers.
The message was addressed to these churches at that time, but it can also speak to Christians individually then as now. It is possible to see a prophetic picture and development of the church's two thousand year history. There are different interpretations and ways of looking at it. Below is a list of the cities' significance and related historical events from a Western Protestant perspective and approximate century:
Ephesus – desirable, describes the church in John's time, 100 AD.
Smyrna – myrrh, describes the persecuted church, 100-300 AD.
Pergamon – marriage, may refer to the time when Christianity became a Roman state religion and "married" the state, 312 AD.
Thyatira – the fragrance of suffering, may refer to the Middle Ages, 500-1500 AD.
Sardis – red stone, there is a remnant of true faith, the Reformation takes place and Bibles begin to be printed and read, 1500s.
Philadelphia – brotherly love, revival movements and worldwide mission, 1800s. Laodicea – democracy, the church of the last days, a time when people's opinions sometimes carry more weight than God's word, 20th century and beyond.]

Letter 1 (of 7) Ephesus – the loveless church

[Meaning: desirable, permitted.
Today: In ruins, the nearest town is Selcuk, a few kilometers away.
Ephesus was an important economic center in ancient times. It was the largest city in Asia Minor with around 200,000 inhabitants. Many visitors came to the Temple of Artemis, which was then considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Here, Artemis Ephesia, the goddess of fertility and hunting, was worshipped. The Roman name for Artemis was Diana, see Acts 19:28.
The city was John's home church, and it may be that Jesus' mother Mary was also here, see John 19:26. About forty years earlier, Paul had founded the church and lived here for several years, see Acts 19:10; 20:31. Aquila and Priscilla taught the church, as did Apollos. Paul also appointed Timothy to be their pastor, see 1 Tim 1:3.]
Write the following to the messenger (angel) of the church in Ephesus:
[Messenger is Gk. aggelos. It can refer to an angel, in the same way that God gave the revelation from Jesus via an angel to John, see Rev 1:1. Messenger can also refer to the leadership of the church, who are to read the letter and convey the message to the church. The same phrase recurs for each church, see Rev 2:8; 2:12; 2:18; 3:1; 3:7; 3:14.]
"Thus says he [Jesus himself, who is risen]
who holds (continuously, in a firm grip) the seven stars [the messengers, see Rev 1:20] in his right hand,
he who walks among the seven lampstands [the churches, see Rev 1:20] of gold:
[Jesus is the true light that came into the world, John 8:28. The fact that Jesus is active and moves among the candlesticks shows how Jesus is present and involved in the churches, which, despite opposition and persecution, choose to be bearers of God's light.]
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The greek text BETA

Nestle-Aland (NA)

Τῷ   ἀγγέλῳ   τῆς   ἐν   Ἐφέσῳ   ἐκκλησίας   γράψον·   τάδε   λέγει   ὁ   κρατῶν   τοὺς   ἑπτὰ   ἀστέρας   ἐν   τῇ   δεξιᾷ   αὐτοῦ,   ὁ   περιπατῶν   ἐν   μέσῳ   τῶν   ἑπτὰ   λυχνιῶν   τῶν   χρυσῶν·  

Textus Receptus (TR)

Τῷ   ἀγγέλῳ   τῆς   ἐν   Ἐφέσῳ   ἐκκλησίας   γράψον·   τάδε   λέγει   ὁ   κρατῶν   τοὺς   ἑπτὰ   ἀστέρας   ἐν   τῇ   δεξιᾷ   αὐτοῦ,   ὁ   περιπατῶν   ἐν   μέσῳ   τῶν   ἑπτὰ   λυχνιῶν   τῶν   χρυσῶν·  

Manuscript comments

TR has 25 Words, NA has 27 (+2).


Interlinear — horizontal

Below is an interlinear translation which follows the original scripture word for word. We are still working on the lexicon. Please contact us if you want to help.





Interlinear — table

Below is an interlinear version in table form that follows the word order of the original text. Clicking on the Strongs number will show the words in their basic form (note that sometimes the grammar causes not only the endings to change, but also the initial letters of the word).


Strongs nr Greek English Grammar Code
G3588
 Τῷ (To)
 To the
Definite article Definite article
dative sing. ♂ dative singular masculine
T-DSM
G0032
 ἀγγέλῳ (ngelo)
 messenger
Noun Noun
dative sing. ♂ dative singular masculine
N-DSM
G3588
 τῆς (tes)
Definite article Definite article
gen. sing. ♀ genitive singular feminine
T-GSF
G1722
 ἐν (en)
 in
Preposition Preposition
 PREP
G2181
 Ἐφέσῳ (Epheso)
 Ephesus
Noun Noun
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
Location (location)
 N-DSF-L
G1577
 ἐκκλησίας (ekklesias)
 church
Noun Noun
gen. sing. ♀ genitive singular feminine
N-GSF
G1125
 γράψον· (grapson.)
 do write:
VERB Verb
aorist active imp. aorist active imperative
sing. second person singular
V-AAM-2S
G3592
 τάδε (tade)
 These things
Demonstrative pron. Demonstrative pronoun
acc. pl. neut. accusative plural Neutral
D-APN
G3004
 λέγει (legei)
 says
VERB Verb
pres. active ind. present active indicative
sing. third person singular
V-PAI-3S
G3588
 ὁ (o)
 the [One]
Definite article Definite article
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
T-NSM
G2902
 κρατῶν (kraton)
 holding
VERB Verb
pres. active part. present active Participle
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
V-PAP-NSM
G3588
 τοὺς (toys)
 the
Definite article Definite article
acc. pl. ♂ accusative plural masculine
T-APM
G2033
 ἑπτὰ (epta)
 seven
Adjective Adjective
acc. pl. ♂ accusative plural masculine
Numerical Numerical
 A-APM-NUI
G0792
 ἀστέρας (asteras)
 stars
Noun Noun
acc. pl. ♂ accusative plural masculine
N-APM
G1722
 ἐν (en)
 in
Preposition Preposition
 PREP
G3588
 τῇ (te)
 the
Definite article Definite article
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
T-DSF
G1188
 δεξιᾷ (dexia)
 right hand
Adjective Adjective
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
A-DSF
G0846
 αὐτοῦ, (aytoy,)
 of Him,
Personal Pron. Personal Pronoun
gen. sing. ♂ genitive singular masculine
P-GSM
G3588
 ὁ (o)
 who
Definite article Definite article
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
T-NSM
G4043
 περιπατῶν (peripaton)
 is walking
VERB Verb
pres. active part. present active Participle
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
V-PAP-NSM
G1722
 ἐν (en)
 in
Preposition Preposition
 PREP
G3319
 μέσῳ (meso)
 [the] midst
Adjective Adjective
dative sing. neut. dative singular Neutral
A-DSN
G3588
 τῶν (ton)
 of the
Definite article Definite article
gen. pl. ♀ genitive plural feminine
T-GPF
G2033
 ἑπτὰ (epta)
 seven
Adjective Adjective
gen. pl. ♀ genitive plural feminine
Numerical Numerical
 A-GPF-NUI
G3087
 λυχνιῶν (lychnion)
 lampstands
Noun Noun
gen. pl. ♀ genitive plural feminine
N-GPF
G3588
 τῶν (ton)
Definite article Definite article
gen. pl. ♀ genitive plural feminine
T-GPF
G5552
 χρυσῶν· (chryson.)
 golden.
Adjective Adjective
gen. pl. ♀ genitive plural feminine
A-GPF

The color of the words tell you how rare the word is, the more red, the fewer uses.

Colorscale:  
1-5
|6-10
|11-50
|51-100
|101-500
|501-1000
|1000+

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