Wahyu 2:20-23

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ¹  woman ²  Jezebel, ³  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ⁴  my servants ⁵  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ⁶  2:21 I ⁷  have given her time to repent, but ⁸  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ⁹  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ¹⁰  unless they repent of her deeds. 2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ¹¹  with a deadly disease, ¹²  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ¹³  each one of you ¹⁴  what your deeds deserve. ¹⁵ 

Wahyu 17:4-5

17:4 Now ¹⁶  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ¹⁷  and adorned with gold, ¹⁸  precious stones, and pearls. She held ¹⁹  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ²⁰  17:5 On ²¹  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ²²  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

[2:20]  ¹ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ² tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

[2:20]  ³ sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

[2:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

[2:20]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ⁶ sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

[2:21]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[2:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ¹² tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ¹⁴ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[17:4]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

[17:4]  ¹⁷ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[17:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[17:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[17:4]  ²⁰ tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

[17:5]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ²² tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).