Revelation 2:20 BSB

Revelation 2:20

But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

KJV

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

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Commentary

1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

That woman Jezebel - There is an allusion here to the history of Ahab and Jezebel, as given in 2 Kings 9:1-10:36; 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.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Like her father, she was swift to shed blood. Wholly given to Baal worship, like Eth-baal, whose name expresses his idolatry, she, with her strong will, seduced the weak Ahab and Israel beyond the calf-worship (which was a worship of the true God under the cherub-ox form, that is, a violation of the second commandment) to that of Baal (a violation of the first commandment also).

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

24 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἀλλ᾽	all᾽	But	G235 →
ἔχω	echō	I have	G2192 →
κατὰ	kata	against	G2596 →
σοῦ	sou	you	G4771 →
ὅτι	hoti	that	G3754 →
ἀφεῖς	apheis	you permit	G863 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
γυναῖκα	gunaika	woman	G1135 →
Ἰεζάβελ,	Iezabel	Jezebel,	G2403 →
ἡ	hē	the [one]	G3588 →
λέγουσα	legousa	calling	G3004 →
ἑαυτὴν	he'autēn	herself	G1438 →
προφῆτιν	prophētin	a prophetess	G4398 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
διδάσκει	didaskei	she teaches	G1321 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
πλανᾷ	plana	she misleads	G4105 →
τοὺς	tous	<the>	G3588 →
ἐμοὺς	emous	My	G1473 →
δούλους	doulous	servants	G1401 →
πορνεῦσαι	porneusai	to commit sexual immorality	G4203 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
φαγεῖν	phagein	to eat	G5315 →
εἰδωλόθυτα.	eidōlothuta	idol-sacrifices.	G1494 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Acts 15:29
You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
leads to
- Acts 15:20
  Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
- Acts 21:25
  As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
- Revelation 2:14
  But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
Through
Revelation 2:14
But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
leads to
- Numbers 31:16
  “Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
- 2 Peter 2:15
  They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
- Numbers 25:1–3
  While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Acts 15:29
  You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
- Jude 1:11

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 2:20

The Seven Churches of Revelation

Asia Minor, late 1st century. Seven cities along a clockwise postal route — Ephesus to Laodicea — each receiving a letter from the risen Christ. Praises, rebukes, promises. A Matt-13 parallel reading discoverable for those who want it.

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