Revelation 3
The full text of Revelation 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard; hold to it, and repent. But 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.
4 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.
5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
6 Whoever has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.
13 Whoever has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
20 Look! I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 Whoever has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Translation notes (13)
- Revelation 3:1a The Greek reads literally onoma echeis hoti zēs, 'you have a name that you live'; onoma, 'name', here carries the sense of public reputation. The rebuke fit Sardis, whose supposedly impregnable acropolis fell to surprise attack twice—to Cyrus in 547 BC and to Antiochus III in 214 BC—because its defenders failed to keep watch, lending force to the command that follows.
- Revelation 3:3a The Greek reads mnēmoneue pōs eilēphas, literally 'remember how you have received', pointing to the manner as well as the content of the Sardians' first instruction. The image of the Lord coming hōs kleptēs, 'like a thief', echoes Jesus' saying in Matthew 24:43 and recurs in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15, always urging watchfulness before an unannounced arrival.
- Revelation 3:4a The Greek reads oliga onomata (ὀλίγα ὀνόματα), 'few names,' an idiom for persons. 'Have not soiled their clothes' renders ouk emolynan ta himatia (οὐκ ἐμόλυναν τὰ ἱμάτια), 'have not defiled their garments,' using molyno (μολύνω) for moral or cultic defilement. 'Dressed in white' (en leukois, ἐν λευκοῖς) evokes purity and victory in Jewish and Greco-Roman ritual dress.
- Revelation 3:5a Greek ou me, 'certainly not', with exaleipso, 'erase/blot out', expresses emphatic negation. The phrase biblou tes zoes, 'book of life', evokes the celestial register of the faithful (Exodus 32:32-33; Psalm 69:28; Daniel 12:1) and recurs in Revelation; homologeso, 'acknowledge', echoes Matthew 10:32/Luke 12:8.
- Revelation 3:7a The phrase ten klein David (τὴν κλεῖν Δαυίδ), 'the key of David', echoes Isaiah 22:22, where God places the key of the house of David on the shoulder of Eliakim, granting him sole authority to open and shut. The verse transfers this steward's authority over the royal household to Christ. The titles hagios, 'holy', and alethinos, 'true', are elsewhere in Revelation applied to God himself.
- Revelation 3:9a The Greek phrase synagoge tou Satana (συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ), 'synagogue of Satan', occurs only here and in Revelation 2:9; its referent, likely a local group whose claim to the name Ioudaioi ('Jews') the author disputes, remains debated. The promise that they will fall down and acknowledge God's love reverses Isaiah 60:14, where the oppressors of Israel bow at her feet.
- Revelation 3:10a The Greek phrase 'Keep you from' (tereo ek) can mean either 'protect through' or 'keep out of' the trial; the wording is intentionally open to both interpretations.
- Revelation 3:12a The promise of a permanent stylos ('pillar') that never again goes outside spoke pointedly to Philadelphia, devastated by the earthquake of AD 17 that Tacitus records in his Annals; Strabo adds that continuing tremors kept many residents living outside the city walls. To a population accustomed to fleeing collapsing structures, immovable security in God's temple was a vivid assurance.
- Revelation 3:14a The Greek word arche, translated here as 'ruler,' may also mean 'the beginning' or 'the source/origin' of God's creation.
- Revelation 3:15a Greek ophelon 'would that' (ὄφελον) expresses a wish, not a command. The contrast of psychros 'cold' (ψυχρός) and zestos 'hot' (ζεστός) likely reflects the region's water: Hierapolis' hot springs and Colossae's cold streams, while Laodicea's aqueduct delivered tepid water.
- Revelation 3:17a The Greek peploutēka, 'I have grown rich', echoes Laodicea's proverbial prosperity as a banking center, and the charge of being poor, blind and naked pointedly inverts the city's three famous trades: finance, black wool garments, and the Phrygian eye-salve produced at its medical school. The next verse extends the irony by offering gold, clothing and salve from Christ instead.
- Revelation 3:18a The Greek kollourion, 'eye salve' (κολλούριον), denotes an ophthalmic ointment. Laodicea was renowned for banking, black‑wool textiles, and medical eye treatments, so the imagery of gold, himatia leuka, 'white garments', and salve engages local industries.
- Revelation 3:20a The Greek literally reads, idou hesteka epi tēn thyran kai krouō, 'Behold, I have taken my stand at the door and am knocking.' This imagery echoes Song of Songs 5:2 and ancient Near Eastern banquet customs, symbolizing intimate fellowship.
About this translation
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