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“Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God. 3Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you. 4But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.

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“Look, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who is alert and remains clothed so that he may not go around naked and people see his shame.”
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.
• Isaiah 62:6Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen on your walls; they will never be silent, day or night. There is no rest for you, who remind the Lord.
• Ezekiel 34:8As I live — this is the declaration of the Lord God — because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock,
• Zechariah 11:16I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.
• Matthew 24:42Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13“Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
• Mark 13:33“Watch! Be alert! For you don’t know when the time is coming.
• Acts 20:28Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
• 2 Timothy 4:1I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom:
• 1 Peter 4:7The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.
• 1 Peter 5:8Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
• Revelation 2:4But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.
• Deuteronomy 3:28But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit this land that you will see.’
• Job 4:4Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling and braced the knees that were buckling.
• Job 16:5Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.

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