Revelation 3:3
New International Version
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

New Living Translation
Go 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.

English Standard Version
Remember, then, what you 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 against you.

Berean Standard Bible
Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

Berean Literal Bible
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard--and keep it and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come like a thief, and you shall not know at what hour I will come upon you.

King James Bible
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

New King James Version
Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

New American Standard Bible
So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

NASB 1995
So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore 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.

NASB 1977
‘Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.

Legacy Standard Bible
So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore 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.

Amplified Bible
So 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.

Christian Standard Bible
Remember, 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.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.

American Standard Version
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Remember how you have heard and received; take heed and return. But if you do not wake up, I shall come upon you as a thief, and you will not know which hour I shall come upon you.”

Contemporary English Version
Remember the teaching you were given and heard. Hold firmly to it and turn from your sins. If you don't wake up, I will come when you least expect it, just as a thief does.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe, and do penance. If then thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I will come to thee.

English Revised Version
Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
So remember what you received and heard. Obey, and change the way you think and act. If you're not alert, I'll come like a thief. You don't know when I will come.

Good News Translation
Remember, then, what you were taught and what you heard; obey it and turn from your sins. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not even know the time when I will come.

International Standard Version
So remember what you received and heard. Obey it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you won't know the time when I will come to you.

Literal Standard Version
Remember, then, what you have received and heard, and keep [it] and convert: if, then, you may not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you may not know what hour I will come on you.

Majority Standard Bible
Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

New American Bible
Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.

NET Bible
Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.

New Revised Standard Version
Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. 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.

New Heart English Bible
Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If therefore you do not wake up, I will come as a thief, and you won't know what hour I will come to you.

Webster's Bible Translation
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Weymouth New Testament
Be mindful, therefore, of the lessons you have received and heard. Continually lay them to heart, and repent. If, however, you fail to rouse yourself and keep awake, I shall come upon you suddenly like a thief, and you will certainly not know the hour at which I shall come to judge you.

World English Bible
Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you.

Young's Literal Translation
'Remember, then, how thou hast received, and heard, and be keeping, and reform: if, then, thou mayest not watch, I will come upon thee as a thief, and thou mayest not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
To the Church in Sardis
2Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God. 3Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you. 4But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white.…

Cross References
Matthew 24:43
But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

Luke 12:39
But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

1 Thessalonians 5:2
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:4
But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.

2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Revelation 2:5
Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 3:2
Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God.


Treasury of Scripture

Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you.

Remember.

Revelation 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Ezekiel 16:61-63
Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant…

Ezekiel 20:43
And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

and hold.

Revelation 3:11
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

See on ch.

Revelation 2:25
But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

2 Timothy 1:13
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

repent.

Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

See on ch.

Revelation 2:5,21,22
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent…

I will.

Revelation 16:15
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Matthew 24:42,43
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…

Luke 12:39,40
And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through…

know.

Matthew 25:13
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Jump to Previous
Awake Change Continually Fail Fast Hear Heard Heart Hold Hour However Lessons Mind Mindful Obey Received Remember Repent Rouse Ruled Suddenly Teaching Thief Wake Watch Won't
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Awake Change Continually Fail Fast Hear Heard Heart Hold Hour However Lessons Mind Mindful Obey Received Remember Repent Rouse Ruled Suddenly Teaching Thief Wake Watch Won't
Revelation 3
1. The angel of the church of Sardis is reproved and exhorted to repent.
37. The angel of the church of Philadelphia is approved for his diligence and patience;
14. the angel of Laodicea rebuked for being neither hot nor cold.
20. Christ stands at the door and knocks.














(3) Remember therefore how (or, after what sort) thou hast received and heard (or, didst hear--the tense changes).--Remembering that the words are addressed primarily to the angel himself, the change of tense may have been designed to point him back to some particular period of his life, such as the time when he was set apart to his ministerial work. The further expectation is to hold fast, or keep--i.e., as an abiding habit. It has been noticed that this counsel is identical with that given to Timothy to "keep the good thing which had been committed to his charge" (2Timothy 1:14; comp. also 2Timothy 2:2). "Repent" is the closing word; combined with the exhortation to hold fast, it reminds us that formal tenacity of truth and a fruitless inactive regret are alike useless. There must be the sorrow for the past, and a sorrow which shows itself in action--a repentance whereby sin is forsaken. (Comp. Revelation 2:5; Revelation 2:21.)

If therefore thou shalt not watch.--Better, If thou shalt not watch (or, have been awake), I will come (omit "on thee") as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. The warning is an echo from the Gospels (Matthew 24:42-43; Luke 12:39-40). The coming of Christ to judge His Church would be in an hour unlooked for. What kind of hour He would so come was' unknown; the sound of His approaching footsteps unheard. Shod with wool, according to the ancient proverb, stealthily as a thief, the Judge would be at the door. Yet they could not plead that they had been in darkness (1Thessalonians 5:4). . . .

Verse 3. - Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear (comp. Revelation 2:5). Like the Ephesians, the Sardians are reminded of the better condition from which they have receded. They are of those "who, when they have heard the Word, straightway receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while" (Mark 4:16, 17). The "how," as is shown by the verbs "receive" and "hear," refers to the readiness with which they accepted the gospel, rather than to the power with which it was preached to them. The tenses are instructive: the aorist applies to the hearing at some definite period in their history; the perfect implies the permanent result of the act of reception. Keep and repent. Keep what thou didst hear. "Keep" is better than "hold fast," to mark the difference between τηρεῖν (Revelation 1:3; Revelation 2:26; Revelation 3:3, 8, 10, etc.), and κρατεῖν (Revelation 2:1, 13, 14, 15, 25; Revelation 3:11, etc.). Here again the tenses should be noted: the present imperative indicates that they are to continue to keep; the aorist, that they are to repent once for all. We have a similar combination of tenses in" Take these things hence at once; continue to refrain from making my Father's house a house of merchandise" (John 2:16; comp. John 5:8, 11; Acts 12:8; 1 Corinthians 15:34). "Remember" here and in Revelation 2:5 is with equal fitness the present imperative: "continue to remember." I will come as a thief. The "on thee" after "come," though well supported, is probably not genuine. Wherever this figure is used in the New Testament of the coming of Christ, the word used is κλέπτης, "a thief," and not ληστής, a "robber" or "bandit." This shows, what is also plain from the context, that secrecy, not violence, is the point of the similitude (comp. Revelation 16:15; Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10). Thou shalt not know what hour; literally, thou shalt in no wise come to know during what kind of an hour. The negative is the strongest form, οὐ μή (Revelation 2:11; Revelation 3:5, 12). The verb is γινώσκειν, which implies acquisition of knowledge (Revelation 2:23, 24; Revelation 3:9). The pronoun is ποῖος (John 10:32; John 12:33; John 18:32; John 21:19; and especially Matthew 24:42; Luke 12:39); and "hour" is in the accusative (John 4:52).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Remember,
μνημόνευε (mnēmoneue)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 3421: From a derivative of mneme; to exercise memory, i.e. Recollect; by implication, to punish; also to rehearse.

then,
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

what
πῶς (pōs)
Adverb
Strong's 4459: Adverb from the base of pou; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way?; also as exclamation, how much!

you have received
εἴληφας (eilēphas)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 2983: (a) I receive, get, (b) I take, lay hold of.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

heard.
ἤκουσας (ēkousas)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 191: To hear, listen, comprehend by hearing; pass: is heard, reported. A primary verb; to hear.

Keep [it]
τήρει (tērei)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 5083: From teros; to guard, i.e. To note; by implication, to detain; by extension, to withhold; by extension, to withhold.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

repent.
μετανόησον (metanoēson)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 3340: From meta and noieo; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. Reconsider.

If
ἐὰν (ean)
Conjunction
Strong's 1437: If. From ei and an; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.

you do not wake up,
γρηγορήσῃς (grēgorēsēs)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1127: (a) I am awake (in the night), watch, (b) I am watchful, on the alert, vigilant. From egeiro; to keep awake, i.e. Watch.

I will come
ἥξω (hēxō)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2240: To have come, be present, have arrived. A primary verb; to arrive, i.e. Be present.

like
ὡς (hōs)
Adverb
Strong's 5613: Probably adverb of comparative from hos; which how, i.e. In that manner.

a thief,
κλέπτης (kleptēs)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2812: A thief. From klepto; a stealer.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

you will not know
γνῷς (gnōs)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1097: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to 'know' in a great variety of applications and with many implications.

the hour
ὥραν (hōran)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5610: Apparently a primary word; an 'hour'.

when
ποίαν (poian)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4169: Of what sort. From the base of pou and hoios; individualizing interrogative what sort of, or which one.

I will come
ἥξω (hēxō)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2240: To have come, be present, have arrived. A primary verb; to arrive, i.e. Be present.

upon
ἐπὶ (epi)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

you.
σέ (se)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.


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NT Prophecy: Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received (Rev. Re Apocalypse)
Revelation 3:2
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