2:2a
I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance: Jesus indicated here that he knew what the believers had been doing. He was aware of all that they had done.
your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance: Here the deeds, labor, and perseverance are all things that the believers in Ephesus did because they believed in Jesus. There are two ways to interpret the connection of deeds to labor and perseverance :
(1) The words labor and perseverance indicate the kinds of deeds. For example:
what you have done—how hard you have worked and how you have endured (God’s Word)
(2) The deeds, labor, and perseverance are three separate things in a list. For example:
your deeds and your toil and perseverance (New American Standard Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because labor and perseverance can be included in the more general word deeds.
your…your…your: The pronouns are singular. They refer to the angel of the church as the representative of all the believers there. But it was the believers who had been working hard and persevering. So in many languages it is more natural to use plural pronouns here.
deeds: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as deeds means “actions” or “accomplishments.” Other ways to translate this word are:
activities (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the things that you have done
In some languages it is more natural to translate the word deeds with a verb. For example:
I know what you have been doing
labor: This phrase refers to the great efforts that the Ephesian believers had made to follow Christ. It was difficult for them to live as believers, and they worked hard at doing what God wanted them to do. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
toil (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the things that you have worked hard at
perseverance: This word refers to continuing to follow God even though there are hardships or people who oppose them. It is the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “perseverance” in 1:9b. Other ways to translate this word are:
steadfast endurance (NET Bible)
-or-
how you…endure (Revised English Bible)
-or-
how patient you have been (Good News Translation)
-or-
how you have endured (Contemporary English Version)
See how you translated the Greek word “perseverance” in 1:9.
2:2b
you cannot tolerate those who are evil: This clause indicates that the believers at Ephesus did not accept those who are evil as fellow believers. They did not permit unbelievers to teach or have influence in the church. Other ways to translate this clause are:
you cannot accept wicked men
-or-
you reject wicked men
-or-
you oppose wicked men
those who are evil: The word evil indicates that these people did bad things. For example:
evil people (Good News Translation)
2:2c
you have tested: Here the word tested may indicate that:
(a) The believers questioned these evil people who claimed to be apostles about their beliefs.
(b) The believers observed them and compared their teachings and behavior to the teachings and behavior of Jesus.
The believers probably did both (a) and (b). Translate this in a way that allows for both meanings. For example:
You have examined (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
you carefully questioned and observed
exposed as liars: This phrase refers to what the believers in Ephesus determined after testing the false teachers. The believers saw that these false teachers were not apostles. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
have discovered that they are liars (God’s Word)
-or-
saw/realized that they had lied
those who falsely claim to be apostles: These evil people came to the believers in Ephesus and lied to them saying, “We are apostles.” Other ways to translate this phrase are:
those who call themselves apostles, and they are not (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
those who falsely say that they are apostles
apostles: In general, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as apostles refers to those sent with a message. They are representatives or messengers of a higher authority. Here it refers to those sent to other cities with the gospel of Jesus (such as Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13:1–3).
The false apostles to whom Jesus referred here also claimed to have authority from him for their false teachings.
Some ways to translate this word are:
• Translate the meaning. For example:
representatives
-or-
⌊special⌋ messengers
-or-
sent-people
If this word is too general, you may want to add the phrase “of Jesus Christ.” That phrase tells from whom they claimed to receive their authority. An example is:
representatives ⌊of Jesus Christ⌋
• Use the major language word if people are familiar with this word. You may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The word “apostles” refers to those sent to other places with the gospel of Jesus Christ. False apostles also claimed to have authority from Jesus for their false teachings, but they were lying.
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