Revelation 2:23

Revelation 2:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
• New Living Translation (NLT)I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

Context of Revelation 2:23

21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

Revelation 2:23 word by word

καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς ἀποκτενῶ ἐν θανάτῳ, καὶ γνώσονται πᾶσαι αἱ ἐκκλησίαι ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἐραυνῶν νεφροὺς καὶ καρδίας, καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα ὑμῶν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• I will killἀποκτείνωapokteinō · to killG615
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• childrenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• the churchesἐκκλησίαekklēsia · assemblyG1577
• shall knowγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• amεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• he which searchethἐρευνάωereunaō · to look for/intoG2045
• the reinsνεφρόςnephros · mindG3510
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• I will giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• untoσύsu · youG4771
• every one ofἕκαστοςhekastos · eachG1538
• according toκατάkata · according toG2596
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041

Cross-references for Revelation 2:23

• Revelation 6:8I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
• Revelation 2:7Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
• Deuteronomy 13:11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
• Deuteronomy 17:13All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.
• Deuteronomy 19:20The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.
• Deuteronomy 21:21Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
• Zephaniah 1:11Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed.
• 1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
• 1 Chronicles 28:9“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
• 1 Chronicles 29:17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
• 2 Chronicles 6:30then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart),
• Psalms 7:9Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.
• Psalms 44:21would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?
• Jeremiah 11:20But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.
• Jeremiah 17:10“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
• Jeremiah 20:12Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.

Commentaries on Revelation 2:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23And I will kill her children with death - "That is, I will certainly destroy her offspring and memory, and thereby ruin her designs. Jezebel's two sons, being both kings were both slain; and after that, all the seventy sons of Ahab; ( 2 Kings 10:1;); in all which the hand of God was very visible. In the same manner God predicts the destruction of the heretics and heresies referred to; see Revelation 2:16. It should seem by the expression, I am he which…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23And I will kill her children with death - A strong Hebraistic mode of expression, meaning that he would certainly destroy them. It has been made a question whether the word “children” here is to be taken literally or figuratively. The word itself would admit of either interpretation; and there is nothing in the connection by which its meaning here can be determined. If it is to be taken literally, it is in accordance with what is often threatened in the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-29Verses 18-29 Even when the Lord knows the works of his people to be wrought in love, faith, zeal, and patience; yet if his eyes, which are as a flame of fire, observe them committing or allowing what is evil, he will rebuke, correct, or punish them. Here is praise of the ministry and people of Thyatira, by One who knew the principles from which they acted. They grew wiser and better. All Christians should earnestly desire that their last works may be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-23Christ’s judgment on this “Jezebel” and on those who follow her takes place in three stages: Jezebel will suffer on a sickbed; her followers will experience great suffering; and her children will die (compare Acts 5:5, 10; 1 Corinthians 11:30). This judgment is similar to the plagues on Egypt, which ended with the deaths of Egypt's firstborn sons (see Exodus 12:29–30). God knows people's thoughts and intentions (see Jeremiah 17:10; Acts 1:24; Hebrews…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. her children--(Is 57:3; Eze 23:45, 47). Her proper adherents; not those who suffer her, but those who are begotten of her. A distinct class from the last in Re 2:22 (compare Note, see on Re 2:22), whose sin was less direct, being that only of connivance. kill ... with death--Compare the disaster that overtook the literal Jezebel's votaries of Baal, and Ahab's sons, 1Ki 18:40; 2Ki 10:6, 7, 24, 25. Kill with death is a Hebraism for slay with most sure…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 2:23

• Church
• Fellowship
• Heart
• Jesus Continued
• Judgment
• Judgments
• Lukewarmness
• Minister, Christian
• Responsibility
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Bed
• Faithful
• Thyatira
• Apostolic Age
• Asia Minor
• Church Government
• Commandment, the New
• Ear
• Ephesians, Epistle to the

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