Verse 3:[1] And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast (Gal. 6:9; Heb. 12:3, 5) not fainted.
[And, etc., καὶ ἐβάστασας, καὶ ὑπομονὴν, etc.] That is, Βαστάζων διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις, Bearing up for the sake of my name, thou hast patience. There is ὑπομονὴ, a patience, in labors, and there is a patience in adversities: concerning which it is here treated (Grotius). And thou has borne (understand, the burden [Piscator], or, thou hast been pressed by a burden [Beza, thus Pagnine]: Βαστάζειν, נָשָׂא, in 2 Kings 18:14 is used of every thing which is heavy to us;[2] of which sort are calamities [Grotius]: thou hast endured [Erasmus, Castalio], thou hast borne [Erasmus, Tigurinus], that is, many things from the pseudo-apostles and the enemies of the faith [Ribera, similarly Durham]), and hast patience (or, dost endure [Piscator], that is, thou dost yet remain unconquered, and art prepared to endure more [Ribera, similarly Durham]), and because of my name (that is, for my sake [Grotius, similarly Ribera]: Consult Matthew 5:11; 10:22 [Grotius]: The name in the place of the thing itself, as it often is [Ribera]: This could be referred either to the preceding word, or to what follows, so that this would be an argument either for patience, or for labor, namely, zeal for my glory [Durham]) thou hast labored, and thou hast not faltered (Montanus), or, thou hast not succumbed to the labor (Paganine), or, thou art not exhausted (Syriac); see Isaiah 16:12; 47:15 (Grotius); that is to say, Thou hast not yielded up thy spirit, that thou mightest subject thy neck to the yoke, and betray the truth (Brightman).
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.
[1] Greek: καὶ ἐβάστασας καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις, καὶ διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου κεκοπίακας καὶ οὐ κέκμηκας.
[2] 2 Kings 18:14a: “And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear (אֶשָּׂא; βαστάσω, in the Septuagint)….”