Revelation 2:3

Rev 2:3. Οὐ κεκοπίακας) Thus the Alex. MS. reads. The others also, with great agreement, οὐκ ἐκοπίασας: there is only the change of Σ for Κ made by the latter, from the rhythm ἐβάστασας.[28] See App. Ed. ii. on this passage.—ΚΟΠΙᾷΝ is used for ΚΆΜΝΕΙΝ, Mat 11:28, 1Co 4:12; also Joh 4:6. Whence in the Septuagint it answers to the words חשׁל כאל לאה עיף חלה, and especially to יגע. Hesychius, ΚΕΚΜΗΚῺς, ΚΕΚΟΠΙΑΚΏς. The Antanaclasis [See Append. Technical Terms], praised by Wolf, is this: I know thy labour; and yet thou dost not labour, that is, thou art not wearied with labour.

[28] B has ἐκοπίασας: AC, κεκοπίακες (the Alexandr. form for—κας): so h Vulg. But Rec. Text, with little authority, adds καὶ οὐ κέκμηκας.—E.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev_2:3. As in Rev_2:2 (καὶ ἐπείρασας, κ.τ.λ.) that is amplified which was briefly indicated by the words καὶ ὅτι οὐ δύνῃ βαστάσαι κακούς, so now, also, the first point of the acknowledgment (τ. κοπ. κ. τ. ὑπομ. σου) is developed on a definite side, and that, too, so that not only with ὑπομονὴν ἕχεις the above ὑπομονὴν σου is again taken up, but also the ἐκβάστασας διὰ τ. ὅν. μου[942] is placed in a significant antithesis to the οὐ δύνῃ βαστάσαι κακούς, and by the καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες[943] it is indicated that the κόπος of believers furnished with the right ὑπομονή has resulted neither in succumbing nor weariness. Beng.: I know thy labor; yet thou dost not labor, i.e., shalt not be broken down by labor.[944]

[942] Cf. Mat_10:22; Luk_21:17; Joh_15:21.

[943] Cf. Isa_40:31; Psa_6:7; Joh_4:6; Mat_11:28.

[944] Cf. Vitr., Wolf., Ew., Ebrard, etc.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rev 2:3 . The tenses as in Rev 2:2 denote a general attitude still existing, the outcome of some special stage of persecution for the sake of the Christian name. κεκοπίακες , cf. κόπον (Rev 2:2 ), a slight play on words; “noui laborem tuum, nec tamen laboras, i.e. , labore non frangeris” (Bengel). Tired in loyalty, not of it. The Ephesian church can bear anything except the presence of impostors in her membership.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

borne . . . patience--The oldest manuscripts transpose these words. Then translate as Greek, "persevering endurance . . . borne." "Thou hast borne" My reproach, but "thou canst not bear the evil" (Rev 2:2). A beautiful antithesis.

and . . . hast laboured, and hast not fainted--The two oldest manuscripts and oldest versions read, "and . . . hast not labored," omitting "and hast fainted." The difficulty which transcribers by English Version reading tried to obviate, was the seeming contradiction, "I know thy labor . . . and thou hast not labored." But what is meant is, "Thou hast not been wearied out with labor."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. And hast borne] The same things mentioned in the preceding verse, but in an inverted order, the particular reason of which does not appear; perhaps it was intended to show more forcibly to this Church that there was no good which they had done, nor evil which they had suffered, that was forgotten before God.

And hast not fainted.] They must therefore have had a considerable portion of this love remaining, else they could not have thus acted.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) And hast borne.—This verse needs some change to bring it into harmony with the best MSS. It should stand, And hast (or, hadst) patience, and didst bear for My name’s sake, and didst not weary. In this last word there is a recurrence to the word (kopos) translated labour or toil in Rev_2:2. They had toiled on to very weariness without wearying of their toil (Gal_6:9), just as they could not bear the evil and yet had borne reproaches for Christ’s sake. “There is toil, and patience, and abhorrence of evil, and discernment, and again patience, and endurance, and unwearied exertion. What can be wanting here?” (Dr. Vaughan.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. and hast borne, &c.] Read and hast patience; and didst bear for my Name’s sake, and hast not been weary.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And hast borne,.... Not evil men, nor false apostles, but "burdens", as the Ethiopic version reads, and as the word signifies; meaning afflictions, reproaches, and persecutions, which pressed sore, and lay heavy on these ministers and churches; and yet they bore them with constancy and cheerfulness, and were not moved by them. The Arabic version reads, "and thou hast borne me"; my name and Gospel, among the Gentiles, and carried it from place to place; see Act 9:15,

and hast patience; which they had from God, as his gift, and which they had in their hearts, and in exercise, and found it useful to them. It was in exercise in a suitable time, and it continued with them; it was not worn out through the length and greatness of their trials,

And for my name's sake hast laboured: which may refer either to enduring sufferings for Christ's name's sake, for his Gospel's sake, for righteousness sake, for the sake of the elect, and for the sake of the honour, glory, and interest of Christ; or to labouring in the ministry, not for filthy lucre sake, nor for party sake, but for the honour of Christ, and the good of souls; and there never was an interval in which this was more true:

and hast not fainted: so as to sink under the burden borne; to have patience quite tired out; to, be weary of labouring for Christ's name's sake; and so as to give out, and quit the service of Christ.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Ver. 3. And hast borne] Bear the false apostles thou couldst not; but hast borne much from them. Morientium nempe ferarum violentiores sunt morsus. Beasts bite hardest when to bite their last.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And hast borne - Hast borne up under trials; or hast borne with the evils with which you have been assailed. That is, you have not given way to murmuring or complaints in trial, you have not abandoned the principles of truth and yielded to the prevalence of error.

And hast patience - That is, in this connection, hast shown that thou canst bear up under these things with patience. This is a repetition of what is said in Rev 2:2, but in a somewhat different connection. There it rather refers to the trouble which they had experienced on account of the pretensions of false apostles, and the patient, persevering, and enduring spirit which they had shown in that form of trial; here the expression is more general, denoting a patient spirit in regard to all forms of trial.

And for my name’s sake hast laboured - On account of me, and in my cause. That is, the labor here referred to, whatever it was, was to advance the cause of the Redeemer. In the word rendered “hast labored” (κεκοπιακας kekopiakas) there is a reference to the word used in the previous verse - “thy labor” (κόπον σου kopon sou); and the design is to show that the “labor,” or trouble there referred to, was on account of him.

And hast not fainted - Hast not become exhausted, or wearied out, so as to give over. The word used here (κάμνω kamnō) occurs in only three places in the New Testament: “Lest ye be wearied, and faint,” Heb 12:3; “The prayer of faith shall save the sick,” Jam 5:15; and in the passage before us. It means properly to become weary and faint from toil, etc.; and the idea here is, that they had not become so wearied out as to give over from exhaustion. The sense of the whole passage is thus rendered by Prof. Stuart: “Thou canst not bear with false teachers, but thou canst bear with troubles and perplexities on account of me; thou hast undergone wearisome toil, but thou art not wearied out thereby.” The state of mind, considered as the state of mind appropriate to a Christian, here represented, is, that we should not tolerate error and sin, but that we should bear up under the trials which they may incidentally occasion us; that we should have such a repugnance to evil that we cannot endure it, as evil, but that we should have such love to the Saviour and his cause as to be willing to bear anything, even in relation to that, or springing from that, that we may be called to suffer in that cause; that while we may be weary in his work, for our bodily strength may become exhausted (compare Mat 26:41), we should not be weary of it; and that though we may have many perplexities, and may meet with much opposition, yet we should not relax our zeal, but should persevere with an ardor that never faints, until our Saviour calls us to our reward.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And hast borne the contradiction of false teachers, and the persecutions of Jews and pagans; for at this time the second persecution was began by Domitian.

And hast patience; grace (with quietness and submission) to bear the will of God in any sort of evils.

And for my name’s sake hast laboured; and for me hast laboured actively in propagating the truths of my gospel, as well as passively in the furnace of trials and persecutions.

And hast not fainted; and hast persevered so as thou hast neither been seduced to other doctrine by false teachers, nor lost thy integrity and holiness of conversation.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Hast borne with even those whom thou canst not bear. A contradiction in terms, a truth in facts.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The text followed in the Authorized Version is here very corrupt; we must read with the Revised Version, And thou hast patience (as in ver. 2), and didst bear for my Name"s sake, and hast not grown weary. The last verb (kekopiakev) is closely akin to toil (kopov) in ver 2. The seeming contradiction between "I know thy toil" and "thou hast not toiled" has caused confusion in the text. Yet ou kekopiakev does not mean "thou hast not toiled," but "thou hast not wearied of toil." It is all the more probable that this play of words is intentional, because "bear" (bastazein) is used in two different senses in ver. 2 and ver. 3: "canst not tolerate evil men," and "didst endure suffering". (comp. Joh_16:12) "So is patience set over the things of God that one can obey no precept, fulfil no work well pleasing to the Lord, if estranged from it. The good of it even they who live outside it honour with the name of highest virtue.... Grand testimony this is to it, in that it incites even the vain schools of the world unto praise and glory! Or is it rather an injury," "in that a thing Divine is bandied about among worldly sciences (Tertullian, "De Pat.," 1).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Hast not fainted. Though called to bear afflictions for Christ they had not wearied.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

because of my name

"Name" here is a metonym for the person of Jesus Christ. AT: "because of me" or "because you believe in my name" or "because you believe in me" (See: Metonymy)

you have not grown weary

Being discouraged is spoken of as being tired. AT: "you have not become discouraged" or "you have not quit" (See: Metaphor)

I have against you the fact that

"I disapprove of you because" or "I am angry with you because"

you have left behind your first love

To stop doing something is spoken of as leaving it behind. Love is spoken of as if it is an object that can be left behind. AT "you have stopped loving me as you did at the beginning" (See: Metaphor)

from where you have fallen

No longer loving as much as they used to is spoken of as haven fallen. AT: "how much you have changed" or "how much you used to love me" (See: Metaphor)

Unless you repent

"If you do not repent"

remove your lampstand

The lampstands are symbols that represent the seven churches. See how you translated "lampstand" in Revelation 1:12. (See: Symbolic Language)

translationWords

know

patient

endure

love

repent

lampstand

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις καὶ ἐβάστασας with אAB2C (א* adds καὶ θλίψις πάσας after ἔχεις); P 7 read ἐβάστασάς με (is it possible that this is the original on which διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου is a gloss? P does not omit the latter) καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις; 1 and 152 ἐβάπτισας καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις; Text. Rec[78] ἐβάστασας καὶ ὑπ. ἔχεις; 33, 34, 35 omit καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις; 37 and Victorinus omit καὶ ἑβάστασας.

[78] Rec. Textus Receptus as printed by Scrivener.

καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες. 16, 37, 38, 39 arm[79] read καὶ κεκοπίακας; 1 καικοπιακας κεκοπίακας καὶ οὐ κέκμηκας. The reading of Text. Rec[80] is a bold and beautiful confiation of this and the Vulgate.

[79] Armenian.

[80] Rec. Textus Receptus as printed by Scrivener.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The best texts omit ouj kekmhkav hast not grown weary, and read kai ouj kekopiakev hast not grown weary. The transcribers supposed the verb kopiaw to mean only to labor; whereas it includes the sense of weariness from labor.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.