Verse Lens · Context pointer
Revelation 2:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse adds the Nicolaitan teaching as a second local compromise.
Read It With
- Revelation 2:12-17
Read Revelation 2:15 with 2:12-17. This verse adds the Nicolaitan teaching as a second local compromise. The complete unit's controlling movement is: The sword-bearer commends fidelity amid Antipas's death but confronts Balaam-like and Nicolaitan compromise, calling for repentance and promising hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name.
Why It Needs Context
The complete movement in Revelation 2:12-17 supplies the speaker, sequence, scriptural imagery, and response that give this detail its force; treating it as independent teaching would detach it from those controls.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Revelation 2:12-17 — Pergamum: Hold Christ's Name and Reject CompromiseSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete coverage.
Exact location: Revelation 2:12-17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Revelation.txt, 2:12-17
Open the Revelation Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Revelation with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual variants, imagery, cross-references, and stated alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Revelation PDF, printed pp. 2408–2447, 2:12-17 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Revelation PDF ↗