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Revelation 02 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Chapters 2 and 3 together are usually called the "seven letters to the seven churches." You may wish to set each letter apart. The reader can then easily see that they are separate letters.
Some translations set quotations from the Old Testament farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text. The ULB does this with the quoted words of verse 27.
Special concepts in this chapter
Poverty and wealth
The Christians in Smyrna were poor because they did not have much money. But they were rich spiritually because God would reward them for their suffering. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/spirit)
"The devil is about to"
People were about to take some of the Christians in Smyrna and throw them into prison and even kill some of them (Revelation 2:10). John does not say who these people were. But he does speak of them harming the Christians as if Satan himself were harming them. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)
Balaam, Balak, and Jezebel
Balaam, Balak, and Jezebel were people who lived long before Jesus was born. They all tried to harm the Israelites either by cursing them or by making them want to stop obeying God.
Important figures of speech in this chapter
"Let the one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches"
The writer knew that almost all of his readers had physical ears. The ear here is a metonym for hearing what God says and desiring to obey him. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"The angel of the church"
The word "angel" here can also mean "messenger." This might refer to the messenger or leader of the church. See how you translated "angel" in Revelation 1:20.
"The words of the one who"
The verses with these words can be difficult to translate. They do not make complete sentences. You may need to add "These are" to the beginning of these verses. Also, Jesus used these words to speak of himself as if he were speaking of another person. Your language may not allow people to speak of themselves as if they were speaking of other people. Jesus began speaking in Revelation 1:17. He continues to speak through the end of Chapter 3.