Revelation 3:2

Revelation 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
• New International Version (NIV)Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.

Context of Revelation 3:2

1“To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of Him who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds; you have a name (reputation) that you are alive, but [in reality] you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen and reaffirm what remains [of your faithful commitment to Me], which is about to die; for I have not found [any of] your deeds completed in the sight of My God or meeting His requirements. 3So remember and take to heart the lessons you have received and heard. Keep and obey them, and repent [change your sinful way of thinking, and demonstrate your repentance with new behavior that proves a conscious decision to turn away from sin]. So then, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4But you [still] have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes [that is, contaminated their character and personal integrity with sin]; and they will walk with Me [dressed] in white, because they are worthy (righteous).

Revelation 3:2 word by word

γίνου γρηγορῶν καὶ στήρισον τὰ λοιπὰ ἃ ἔμελλον ἀποθανεῖν· οὐ γὰρ εὕρηκά σου τὰ ἔργα πεπληρωμένα ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ μου.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• watchfulγρηγορέωgrēgoreuō · to keep watchG1127
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• strengthenστηρίζωstērizō · to establishG4741
• the things which remainλοιπόςloipoi · remainingG3062
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• are ready toμέλλωmellō · to ensueG3195
• dieἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• I haveεὑρίσκωheuriskō · to find/meetG2147
• notοὐou · noG3756
• thyσύsu · youG4771
• worksὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• perfectπληρόωplēroō · to fulfillG4137
• beforeἐνώπιονenōpion · beforeG1799
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for Revelation 3:2

• Revelation 16:15(“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame.”)
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.
• Isaiah 62:6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed and stationed watchmen (prophets), Who will never keep silent day or night; You who profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves,
• Ezekiel 34:8“As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;
• Zechariah 11:16For behold, I am going to raise up a [false] shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or feed the healthy; but will eat the flesh of the fat ones and tear off their hoofs [to consume everything].
• Matthew 24:42“So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13Therefore, be on the alert [be prepared and ready], for you do not know the day nor the hour [when the Son of Man will come].
• Mark 13:33“Be on guard and stay constantly alert [and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
• Acts 20:28Take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd (tend, feed, guide) the church of God which He bought with His own blood.
• 2 Timothy 4:1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
• 1 Peter 4:7The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him.]
• 1 Peter 5:8Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
• Revelation 2:4But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me].
• Deuteronomy 3:28But command Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go across and lead this people, and he will give them the land which you see as an inheritance.’
• Job 4:4Your words have helped the one who was stumbling to stand, And you have strengthened feeble knees.
• Job 16:5[But instead] I could strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth, And the consolation and solace of my lips would soothe your suffering and lessen your anguish.

Commentaries on Revelation 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Be watchful - Ye have lost ground by carelessness and inattention. Awake, and keep awake! Strengthen the things which remain - The convictions and good desires, with any measure of the fear of God and of a tender conscience, which, although still subsisting, are about to perish, because the Holy Spirit, who is the author of them, being repeatedly grieved, is about finally to depart. Thy works perfect - · Filled up. They performed duties of all kinds, but…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Be watchful - Be wakeful; be attentive and earnest - in contradistinction from the drowsy condition of the church. Strengthen the things which remain - The true piety that still lives and lingers among you. Whatever there was of religion among them, it was of importance to strengthen it, that the love of the Saviour might not become wholly extinct. An important duty in a low and languishing state of religion is, to “strengthen the things that still…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3The church in Sardis needed to wake up and pay attention. If they did not, they would face sudden judgment. The city of Sardis had experienced this kind of surprise attack twice. The first happened when the forces of Cyrus entered the city through a secret tunnel around 549 or 546 BC. The second happened in 189 BC when Antiochus III attacked the city in the same way. In both cases, the watchmen were not alert, and the city fell. The same would happen to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-221. Sardis--the ancient capital of Lydia, the kingdom of wealthy Croesus, on the river Pactolus. The address to this Church is full of rebuke. It does not seem to have been in vain; for Melito, bishop of Sardis in the second century, was eminent for piety and learning. He visited Palestine to assure himself and his flock as to the Old Testament canon and wrote an epistle on the subject [Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, 4.26]; he also wrote a commentary on…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 3:2

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Backsliders
• Church
• Instability
• Lukewarmness
• Repentance
• Sardis
• Temptation
• Watchfulness
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Angel
• Chasten
• Cold
• Counsel
• Dead
• Lukewarm
• Naked
• Poor

Commentaries on Revelation 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings