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

1To the angel of Messiah’s community in Sardis write: “Thus says the One having the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your deeds—you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains that was about to die. For I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God. 3So remember what you have received and heard—keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. 4“But still, you have a few people in Sardis who have not stained their clothes. 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“Behold, I am coming like a thief! How fortunate is the one who stays alert and keeps his clothes on, lest he walk around naked and they see his shamefulness.”
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are all blind. All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down, lovers of slumber,
• Isaiah 62:6On your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen. All day and all night, they will never hold their peace. “You who remind Adonai, take no rest for yourselves,
• Ezekiel 34:8“As I live”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“as surely as My sheep became prey and My sheep became food for all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My sheep,”
• Zechariah 11:16For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the dying, seek out the young or heal the injured or nourish the healthy. Instead he will eat the meat of the choice sheep, even tearing off their hoofs.”
• Matthew 24:42Therefore stay alert; for you do not know what day your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13Therefore stay alert, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
• Mark 13:33“Keep on the lookout! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time is.
• Acts 20:28“Take care of yourselves and all the flock of which the Ruach ha-Kodesh has made you overseers, to shepherd the community of God—which He obtained with the blood of His own.
• 2 Timothy 4:1I solemnly charge you—in the presence of God and Messiah Yeshua, who is about to judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom—
• 1 Peter 4:7Now the end of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for prayer.
• 1 Peter 5:8Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour.
• Revelation 2:4“But this I have against you, that you have forsaken your first love.
• Deuteronomy 3:28But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over before this people, and he will enable them to inherit the land that you will see.’
• Job 4:4Your words have supported those who stumbled, and strengthened buckling knees.
• Job 16:5But I would strengthen you with my mouth and comfort from my lips would bring you 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