Revelation 2:11
in Revelation 2He 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
KJV
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
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This verse in Revelation 2
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Victorinus of PettauCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John · Written before 304.
"He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death." That is, he shall not be chastised in hell.
This site's exposition
Fear none of those things
on Revelation 2:10-11
Alone among the seven, Smyrna receives no charge, only comfort: fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. The ten days is read two ways with holders, a short, limited season of testing in the plain sense, or ten literal periods of imperial persecution reaching to Diocletian in an older historicist scheme; either way the church's own martyr Polycarp, its bishop within a generation of this letter, died faithful unto death exactly as commanded. The overcomer's promise, shall not be hurt of the second death, answers 20:6 and 20:14 by name, the lake of fire holding no claim on those already secure in Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death." Having eaten of the forbidden tree, [Adam] procured this [death] for posterity. However, watering the tree of the cross by the water and blood which flowed from the holy place of his side, Christ …
This then is done in them through grace so that the change brought about by divine gift may begin in them here. The change begins first through justification, in which there is a spiritual resurrection, and afterwards, in the resurrection of the body, in which …
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be harmed by the second death. What has been said is very precise; for in the first death, which is the separation of the …
The Medieval Church2 voices
He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death. When the sacred Scripture usually mentions three deaths, namely one of sin, one of the flesh, and one …
He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. He who remains faithful until the death of the flesh will not fear the eternal death of the soul.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He that hath an ear, let him hear,....
Whether this was a city raised up out of the ruins of old Troy, a Troy nouveau (as our London was once called), or some other city of the same name, is neither certain nor material; it was a place where Christ had called and constituted a gospel church, by the preaching of the gospel and the grace of his Spirit making the word effectual.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall not be hurt--Greek, "shall not by any means (or possibly) be hurt." the second death--"the lake of fire." "The death in life of the lost, as contrasted with the life in death of the saved" [TRENCH]. The phrase "the second death" is peculiar to the Apocalypse.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
He that overcometh - The conqueror who has stood firm in every trial, and vanquished all his adversaries. Shall not be hurt of the second death - That is, an eternal separation from God and the glory of his power; as what we commonly mean by final perdition. This is another rabbinical mode of speech in very frequent use, and by it they understand the punishment of hell in a future life. The Epistle to the Church at Pergamos
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He that hath an ear ... - See the notes on Rev 2:7. He that overcometh - See the notes on Rev 2:7. The particular promise here is made to him that should “overcome”; that is, that would gain the victory in the persecutions which were to come upon them. The reference is to him who would show the sustaining power of religion in times of persecution; who would not yield his principles when opposed and persecuted; who would be triumphant when so many efforts were made to induce him to apostatize and abandon the cause.
The words behind it
20 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἔχων | echon | having | G2192 → | 707 times |
| οὖς | ous | an ear | G3775 → | 36 times |
| ἀκουσάτω | akousato | he should hear | G191 → | 425 times |
| τί | ti | what | G5101 → | 563 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πνεῦμα | pneuma | Spirit | G4151 → | 378 times |
| λέγει | legei | says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| ταῖς | tais | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐκκλησίαις· | ekklesiais | churches; | G1577 → | 113 times |
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| νικῶν | nikon | overcoming | G3528 → | 28 times |
| οὐ | ou | certainly | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἀδικηθῇ | adikethea | may be injured | G91 → | 28 times |
| ἐκ | ek | by | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θανάτου | thanatou | death | G2288 → | 120 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δευτέρου.¶ | deuterou | second. | G1208 → | 43 times |
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἔχωνhaving
echonG2192 →707 times
οὖςan ear
ousG3775 →36 times
ἀκουσάτωhe should hear
akousatoG191 →425 times
τίwhat
tiG5101 →563 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πνεῦμαSpirit
pneumaG4151 →378 times
λέγειsays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
ταῖςto the
taisG3588 →19766 times
ἐκκλησίαις·churches;
ekklesiaisG1577 →113 times
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
νικῶνovercoming
nikonG3528 →28 times
οὐcertainly
ouG3756 →1664 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
ἀδικηθῇmay be injured
adiketheaG91 →28 times
ἐκby
ekG1537 →911 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
θανάτουdeath
thanatouG2288 →120 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
δευτέρου.¶second.
deuterouG1208 →43 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- Ephesians 5:5–6
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Through
Revelation 2:7He 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…
it leads to
- Revelation 2:17
He 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…
- Matthew 11:15
He who has ears, let him hear.
- Revelation 13:9
He who has an ear, let him hear:
- Matthew 13:43
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
- Matthew 13:9
He who has ears, let him hear.”
- Revelation 2:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Revelation

This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alcuin of York, COMMENTARY ON REVELATION; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Fulgentius of Ruspe, ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 2.12.3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation; Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:11 and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.
