2:1a

Jesus continued the speech he began in 1:17. Since people sometimes begin reading at the start of chapters, you may want to indicate who was speaking. For example:

⌊Jesus continued and said,⌋

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: Jesus told John to write To the angel of the church in Ephesus, but the message was for the believers in Ephesus. The angel had a relationship with those believers in some way (as the Notes in 1:20 talk about).

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that the message was only for the angel. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the meaning of the word “of” in your translation. For example:

To the angel identified/associated with the church in Ephesus write:
-or-
To the angel representing the church in Ephesus write:

• Include a footnote to explain the relationship between the angel and the church. An example footnote is:

Jesus told John to write “to the angel of the church in Ephesus,” but the message was for the believers in Ephesus. The angel represented the believers in Ephesus. The deeds that Jesus spoke of in 2:2 are the deeds of the believers. The same is true for the messages to the other six churches.

angel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angel means “messenger.” It refers here to a spirit being who serves God. The English versions usually translate the Greek word as angel. See how you translated this word in 1:1 or 1:20.

church: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as church refers generally to a gathering of people. Someone summoned the people for a particular purpose. Here, as almost always in the NT, it refers to groups of believers.

In the Bible this word never refers to church buildings. You also should not use a phrase that refers to separate groupings of churches where each group has its own name. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

congregation
-or-
the believers ⌊who live⌋
-or-
the gathering of believers

See how you translated this word in 1:4.

Ephesus: Ephesus was an important city, a center for trade and the pagan worship of the goddess Artemis. In some languages it is helpful to explain what Ephesus was. For example:

⌊the city of/called⌋ Ephesus

2:1b–c

Some English versions use quotation marks at the beginning of 2:1b because it begins telling what John was told to write. For example:

‘The words of him… (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
“This is the message… (Good News Translation)

Introduce what John was told to write in a natural way in your language.

These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: The Greek words are literally “The one holding seven stars in his right hand and walking among the seven golden lampstands says these things.” The Greek word for “these” refers to the words in 2:2–7. The whole clause here is an introduction to 2:2–7. Other ways to translate it are:

This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands (Good News Translation)
-or-

The message of him who is holding the seven stars in his right hand and walking among the seven golden lampstands is this :

Jesus spoke these words about himself. He continues to speak in 2:2, using the pronoun “I.” In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Jesus was talking about someone else here. If that is true in your language, indicate that Jesus spoke about himself. For example:

These are my words, and I hold the seven stars in my right hand and walk among the seven golden lampstands

2:1b

Him…His: Jesus referred to himself here. In some languages it is more natural to use the pronouns “I” and “my.” For example:

These are my words. I hold the seven stars in my right hand…
-or-

I am the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand. I am the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands. My message is this:

2:1c

walks among: This phrase indicates that the lampstands were on either side of Jesus. Some of the lampstands may have been in front of Jesus, and some may have been behind him as well. See how you translated among in 1:13.

the seven golden lampstands: A lampstand is a stand with a place/platform for a lamp on top. This context implies that there are lamps on the lampstands. See how you translated the seven golden lampstands in 1:12.

General Comment on 2:1b–c

In some languages it is more natural to identify the speaker before introducing the message. If that is true in your language, you may want to reorder the information in 2:1b–c. For example:

1b–c
I am the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. My message is this:

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