Revelation 2:23

Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the church in Thyatira, delivering the final word to Jezebel and her followers before turning to the remainder of the congregation in the next verse. The moment is the last warning before judgment is pronounced.

The words — ἀποκτενῶ (apoktenō), "I will kill," is first-person active future: a personal, unmediated declaration of lethal action. τέκνα (tekna), "children," is the same word used for biological offspring in the Gospels, marking these as her direct progeny in bearing her teaching.

The thread — "Repay each one according to deeds" echoes Matthew 16:27. The claim to search minds and hearts parallels Psalm 7:9 and Romans 8:27.

Why it lands — The verse removes the assumption that God is unaware of what a person does or believes. It demands that a reader reckon with the fact that deeds are seen and will be weighed.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
Psalms 7:9 Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
Romans 8:27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Acts 1:24 And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen
1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
Jeremiah 11:20 O LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.
Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
John 2:24 But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.
Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”