New International Version NIV
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 “To the angelof 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.
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"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus, write: The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says:
2 I 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.
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I know what you have done--how hard you have worked and how you have endured. I also know that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. You have discovered that they are liars.
3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
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You have endured, suffered trouble because of my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
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However, I have this against you: The love you had at first is gone.
5 Consider 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.
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Remember how far you have fallen. Return to me and change the way you think and act, and do what you did at first. I will come to you and take your lamp stand from its place if you don't change.
6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
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But you have this in your favor--you hate what the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they're doing.
7 Whoever 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.
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"Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the paradise of God, to everyone who wins the victory.
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.
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"To the messenger of the church in Smyrna, write: The first and the last, who was dead and became alive, says:
9 I 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.
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I know how you are suffering, how poor you are--but you are rich. I also know that those who claim to be Jews slander you. They are the synagogue of Satan.
10 Do 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.
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Don't be afraid of what you are going to suffer. The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. Your suffering will go on for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 Whoever 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.
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Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Everyone who wins the victory will never be hurt by the second death.
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
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"To the messenger of the church in Pergamum, write: The one who holds the sharp two-edged sword says:
13 I 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.
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I know where you live. Satan's throne is there. You hold on to my name and have not denied your belief in me, even in the days of Antipas. He was my faithful witness who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, 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.
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But I have a few things against you: You have among you those who follow what Balaam taught Balak. Balak trapped the people of Israel by [encouraging] them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to sin sexually.
15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
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You also have some who follow what the Nicolaitans teach.
16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
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So return to me and change the way you think and act, or I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword from my mouth.
17 Whoever 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.
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Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each person a white stone with a new name written on it, a name that is known only to the person who receives it.
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.
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"To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write: The Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says:
19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
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I know what you do. I know your love, faith, service, and endurance. I also know that what you are doing now is greater than what you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, 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.
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But I have something against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. She teaches and misleads my servants to sin sexually and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.
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I gave her time to turn to me and change the way she thinks and acts, but she refuses to turn away from her sexual sins.
22 So 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.
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Watch me! I'm going to throw her into a sickbed. Those who commit sexual sins with her will also suffer a lot, unless they turn away from what she is doing.
23 I 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.
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I will kill her children. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds. I will reward each of you for what you have done.
24 Now 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,
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But the rest of you in Thyatira--all who don't hold on to Jezebel's teaching, who haven't learned what are called the deep things of Satan--I won't burden you with anything else.
25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
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Just hold on to what you have until I come.
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
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I have received authority from my Father. I will give authority over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and continues to do what I want until the end.
27 that 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.
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Those people will rule the nations with iron scepters and shatter them like pottery.
28 I will also give that one the morning star.
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I will also give them the morning star.
29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.