New American Standard Bible 1995
Revelation 2:14
14But 1I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the 2teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, 3to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
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
12“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 13‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you 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
- I haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- a fewὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
- againstκατάkata · according toG2596
- you, becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- thereἐκεῖekei · thereG1563
- some who holdκρατέωkrateō · to grasp/seizeG2902
- teachingδιδαχήdidachē · teachingG1322
- of BalaamΒαλαάμBalaam · BalaamG903
- whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- kept teachingδιδάσκωdidaskō · to teachG1321
- BalakΒαλάκBalak · BalakG904
- to putβάλλωballō · to throw: putG906
- a stumblingσκάνδαλονskandalon · stumbling blockG4625
- beforeἐνώπιονenōpion · beforeG1799
- the sonsυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- of IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
- to eatἐσθίωesthiō · to eatG2068
- thingsεἰδωλόθυτοςeidōlothuton · sacrificed to idolsG1494
- and to commitπορνεύωporneuō · to sin sexuallyG4203
Cross-references for Revelation 2:14
- Revelation 2:4But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
- Numbers 24:14And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”
- Numbers 25:1While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.
- Numbers 31:8They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
- Joshua 24:9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.
- 2 Peter 2:15forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
- Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
- Isaiah 57:14And it will be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
- Jeremiah 6:21Therefore, thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and friend will perish.”
- Ezekiel 3:20Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
- Ezekiel 44:12Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall bear the punishment for their iniquity.
- Matthew 18:7“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
- Romans 9:32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- Romans 11:9And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
- Romans 14:13Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to 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
Notes
- 1. Revelation 2:14 Rev 2:20 ↩
- 2. Revelation 2:14 Num 31:16; 2 Pet 2:15 ↩
- 3. Revelation 2:14 Num 25:1f; Acts 15:29; 1 Cor 10:20; Rev 2:20 ↩
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries