Revelation 3:4

Revelation 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
• New International Version (NIV)Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

Context of Revelation 3:4

2Wake 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. But 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). 5He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will accordingly be dressed in white clothing; and I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess and openly acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels [saying that he is one of Mine]. 6He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Revelation 3:4 word by word

ἀλλ᾽ ἔχεις ὀλίγα ὀνόματα ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἃ οὐκ ἐμόλυναν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν, καὶ περιπατήσουσιν μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐν λευκοῖς, ὅτι ἄξιοί εἰσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thou hastἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a fewὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
• namesὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• evenκαίkai · andG2532
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• SardisΣάρδειςSardeis · SardisG4554
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• haveμολύνωmolunō · to defileG3435
• notοὐou · noG3756
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• garmentsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• garmentsἱμάτιονhimation · clothingG2440
• they shall walkπεριπατέωperipateō · to walkG4043
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• whiteλευκόςleukos · whiteG3022
• forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• they areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• worthyἄξιοςaxios · worthyG514

Cross-references for Revelation 3:4

• Revelation 11:13And in that [very] hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell and was destroyed; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest [who survived] were overcome with terror, and they glorified the God of heaven [as they recognized His awesome power].
• Acts 1:15Now on one of these days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said,
• 1 Kings 19:18Yet I will leave 7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
• Isaiah 1:9If the Lord of hosts Had not left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.
• Romans 11:4But what is God’s response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
• Revelation 7:14I said to him, “My lord, you know [the answer].” And he said to me, “These are the people who come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [because of His atoning sacrifice].
• Revelation 19:8She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean—for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers].
• Isaiah 52:1Awake, awake, Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you.
• Isaiah 59:6Their webs will not serve as clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with what they make; Their works are works of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing], And the act of violence is in their hands.
• Isaiah 61:3To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following: To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning], The oil of joy instead of mourning, The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God], The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
• Isaiah 64:6For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper], And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags; We all wither and decay like a leaf, And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].
• Zechariah 3:3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy (nauseatingly vile) garments and was standing before the Angel [of the Lord].
• Jude 1:23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy but with fear, loathing even the clothing spotted and polluted by their shameless immoral freedom.
• Revelation 3:5He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will accordingly be dressed in white clothing; and I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess and openly acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels [saying that he is one of Mine].
• Revelation 4:4Twenty-four [other] thrones surrounded the throne; and seated on these thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, with crowns of gold on their heads.
• Revelation 6:11Then they were each given a white robe; and they were told to rest and wait quietly for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed.

Commentaries on Revelation 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis - A few persons, names being put for those who bore them. And as the members of the Church were all enrolled, or their names entered in a book, when admitted into the Church or when baptized, names are here put for the people themselves. See Revelation 3:5. Have not defiled their garments - Their souls. The Hebrews considered holiness as the garb of the soul, and evil actions as stains or spots on this garb. So in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis - See the analysis of the chapter. The word “names” here is equivalent to “persons”; and the idea is, that even in a place so depraved, and where religion had so much declined, there were a few persons who had kept themselves free from the general contamination. In most cases, when error and sin prevail, there may be found a few who are worthy of the divine commendation; a few who show that true religion may exist even…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Soiled … garments symbolize an impure life (Zechariah 3:4), while white clothes represent purity (see Revelation 6:11; 7:13–14; 22:14). How they walk means how a person lives (see Genesis 17:1; Psalms 81:13; 82:5; Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The three oldest manuscripts prefix "but," or "nevertheless" (notwithstanding thy spiritual deadness), and omit "even." names--persons named in the book of life (Re 3:5) known by name by the Lord as His own. These had the reality corresponding to their name; not a mere name among men as living, while really dead (Re 3:1). The gracious Lord does not overlook any exceptional cases of real saints in the midst of unreal professors. not defiled their…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 3:4

• Church
• Colors
• Decision
• Immortality
• Obedience
• Righteous
• Sardis
• Walking

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Banquet
• Chasten
• Cold
• Counsel
• Dead
• Lukewarm
• Naked
• Poor
• Rich

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