Revelation 2:4 BSB — MannaFest

Revelation 2:4

But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.

KJV

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

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Commentary

5 voices

Tertullian

ON PENITENCE 7-8 (220)

You have sinned, yet you still can be reconciled. You have someone to whom you can make satisfaction, yes, and one who wills it. If you doubt that this is true, consider what the Spirit says to the churches. He charges the Ephesians with "having abandoned charity." He reproaches the Thyatirenes with fornication and "eating food sacrificed to idols." He accuses the Sardians of "works that are not complete." He censures the people of Pergamos for teaching false doctrines. He upbraids the Laodiceans for "placing their trust in riches." And yet he warns them all to repent—even adding threats.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,.... So the Jews represent God saying, concerning their fathers, "Abraham", &c. יש לי עליהם "I have something against them" (a).

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

In the address our Lord speaks to the angel of each church which then was, and to the members thereof directly; whereas in the promise he speaks of all that should overcome, in whatever church or age, and deals out to them one of the precious promises, (by way of anticipation,) from the last chapters of the book. Write - So Christ dictated to him every word.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1926: “Love's Complaining” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1886)

IT WAS the work of the priest to go into the holy place and to trim the seven-branched lamp of gold: see how our Great High Priest walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: his work is not occasional, but constant. Wearing robes which are at once royal and priestly, he is seen lighting the holy lamps, pouring in the sacred oil, and removing impurities which would dim the light.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

How characteristic of our gracious Lord, that He puts foremost all He can find to approve, and only after this notes the shortcomings! left thy first love--to Christ. Compare 1Ti 5:12, "cast off their first faith." See the Ephesians' first love, Eph 1:15. This epistle was written under Domitian, when thirty years had elapsed since Paul had written his Epistle to them.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 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 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
ἀγάπην	agapēn	love	G26 →
σου	sou	of you	G4771 →
τὴν	tēn	<the>	G3588 →
πρώτην	prōtēn	first	G4413 →
ἀφῆκες.	aphēkes	you have abandoned.	G863 →

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
Philippians 1:9
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12
  And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
- Colossians 1:9
  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and…
- 2 Peter 1:5–6
  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- Philemon 1:6
  I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
- Colossians 3:10
  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Through
2 Thessalonians 1:3
We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
leads to
- 2 Peter 3:18
  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- 2 Peter 1:5–10
  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- Isaiah 40:29–31
  He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 2:4

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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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Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus, the Abyss, and Paradise — six words English hid inside one, disambiguated and sourced.

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Balaam's Donkey (Numbers 22–24) MannaFest

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Manna

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The Ecstasy of Saint Paul — Nicolas Poussin

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Power Made Perfect in Weakness — 2 Corinthians 12:7–10

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The Lampstand

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About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Revelation: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Love
Christ's rebuke to Ephesus: love, even rightly defined, can be lost

Continue: Revelation 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Revelation

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Revelation