American Standard Version
Revelation 2:14
14But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
Revelation 2:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Context of Revelation 2:14
12And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: 13I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. 15So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner. 16Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
Read all of Revelation 2Revelation 2:14 word by word
ἀλλ᾽ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὀλίγα ὅτι ἔχεις ἐκεῖ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν Βαλαάμ, ὃς ἐδίδασκεν τῷ Βαλὰκ βαλεῖν σκάνδαλον ἐνώπιον τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα καὶ πορνεῦσαι.Read the interlinear
- fewὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
- thingsὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- holdκρατέωkrateō · to grasp/seizeG2902
- teachingδιδάσκωdidaskō · to teachG1321
- BalaamΒαλαάμBalaam · BalaamG903
- castβάλλωballō · to throw: putG906
- IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
- eatἐσθίωesthiō · to eatG2068
- commitπορνεύωporneuō · to sin sexuallyG4203
Cross-references for Revelation 2:14
- Revelation 2:4But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
- Numbers 24:14And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
- Numbers 25:1And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab:
- Numbers 31:8And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
- Joshua 24:9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;
- 2 Peter 2:15forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;
- Jude 1:11Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.
- Isaiah 57:14And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.
- Jeremiah 6:21Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people; and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
- Ezekiel 3:20Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
- Ezekiel 44:12Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a stumblingblock of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord Jehovah, and they shall bear their iniquity.
- Matthew 18:7Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh!
- Romans 9:32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling;
- Romans 11:9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them:
- Romans 14:13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock in his brother’s way, or an occasion of falling.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23but we preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumblingblock, and unto Gentiles foolishness;
Commentaries on Revelation 2:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14I have a few things against thee - Their good deeds are first carefully sought out and commended; what was wrong in them is touched with a gentle but effectual hand. The followers of Balaam, the Nicolaitanes, and the Gnostics, were probably all the same kind of persons; but see on Revelation 2:6; (note). What the doctrine of Balaam was, see the notes on Numbers 24:1; (note) through Numbers 25:18; and Numbers 31:1-54 (note). It appears that there were some…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14But I have a few things against thee - As against the church at Ephesus, Revelation 2:4. The charge against this church, however, is somewhat different from that against the church at Ephesus. The charge there was, that they had “left their first love”; but it is spoken in commendation of them that they “hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes,” Revelation 2:6. Here the charge is, that they tolerated that sect among them, and that they had among them also…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 The word of God is a sword, able to slay both sin and sinners. It turns and cuts every way; but the believer need not fear this sword; yet this confidence cannot be supported without steady obedience. As our Lord notices all the advantages and opportunities we have for duty in the places where we dwell, so he notices our temptations and discouragements from the same causes. In a situation of trials, the church of Pergamos had not denied the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-15Some people in Pergamum mixed Christianity with pagan beliefs and took part in immoral activities. John compares them to Balaam, who led Israel into sin (see Numbers 25:1–3; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11). Nicolaitans: see study note on Revelation 2:6.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. few--in comparison of the many tokens of thy faithfulness. hold the doctrine of Balaam--"the teaching of Balaam," namely, that which he "taught Balak." Compare "the counsel of Balaam," Nu 31:16. "Balak" is dative in the Greek, whence Bengel translates, "taught (the Moabites) for (that is, to please) Balak." But though in Numbers it is not expressly said he taught Balak, yet there is nothing said inconsistent with his having done so; and Josephus…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 2:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries