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 this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. 3Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. 4“Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for 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 will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
• Isaiah 56:10For the leaders of my people— the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds— are blind and ignorant. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.
• Isaiah 62:6O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
• Ezekiel 34:8As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.
• Zechariah 11:16This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.
• Matthew 24:42“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
• Mark 13:33And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!
• Acts 20:28“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.
• 2 Timothy 4:1I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom:
• 1 Peter 4:7The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
• 1 Peter 5:8Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
• Revelation 2:4“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!
• Deuteronomy 3:28Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’
• Job 4:4Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees.
• Job 16:5But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief.

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