2 John 1:8
in 2 John 1Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward.
KJV
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
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This verse in 2 John 1
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHe commands those to whom he writes to beware of people who reject both comings of the Lord. He also presents the reason, namely, so that by joining with them, you would not lose what you have accomplished, but receive a full reward.
This site's exposition
many deceivers have gone out into the world
on 2 John 1:7-9
In verse 7, many deceivers have gone out into the world, the secession of 1 John 2:19. They are refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, a present participle. Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God.
This site's exposition
Watch yourselves
The first guard against error is set over one's own heart. Albert Barnes compares it to manning your own fort before you march out against an invader. Adam Clarke reads what we have worked for as the apostles' labour in these believers, which the church keeps by standing firm.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
This is the seducer and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. "This is the seducer and an antichrist." With this, it must be understood for a more perfect …
Here John is warning people not to fall away into heresy or to revert back to the Old Testament law once they have received the New.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That we lose not the things which we have wrought - Which every apostate does. But receive a full reward - Having fully employed all our talents to the glory of him that gave them.
Look to yourselves,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Look to yourselves - Be on your guard against these seducers; watch, pray, love God and each other, and walk in newness of life. That we lose not those things which we have wrought - That we apostles, who have been the means of your conversion, may not be deprived of you as our crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
2Ti 2:15) were the instruments of working in you. a full reward--of grace not of debt. If "which YE have wrought" be read with very old authorities, the reward meant is that of their "work (of faith) and labor of love." There are degrees of heavenly reward proportioned to the degrees of capability of receiving heavenly blessedness.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Look to yourselves - This seems to be addressed to the lady to whom he wrote, and to her children. The idea is, that they should be particularly on their guard, and that their first care should be to secure their own hearts, so that they should not be exposed to the dangerous attacks of error. When error abounds in the world, our first duty is not to attack it and make war upon it; it is to look to the citadel of our own souls, and see that all is well guarded there. When an enemy invades a land, the first thing will not be to go out against him, regardless of our own strength, or of the security of our own fortresses, but it will be to see that our forts are well manned, and that we are secure there from his assaults. If that is so, we may then go forth with confidence to meet him on the open field. In relation to an error that is in the world, the first thing for a Christian to do is to take care of his own heart. That we lose not those things which we have wrought - Margin: “Or, gained.” Some copies read: “which ye have gained, but that ye.” The reading here referred to in the margin is found in several manuscripts and also in the Vulgate, the Syriac, and the Aethiopic versions. It is not, however, adopted in the late critical editions of the New Testament, and the common reading is probably genuine. The sense is not materially varied, and the common reading is not unnatural. John was exhorting the family to whom this Epistle was written to take good heed to themselves while so many artful errorists were around them, lest they should be drawn away from the truth, and lose a part of the full reward which they might hope to receive in heaven. […]
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| βλέπετε | blepete | do watch | G991 → | |
| ἑαυτοὺς | he'autous | yourselves | G1438 → | |
| ἵνα | ina | so that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἀπολέσητε | apolesete | you may lose | G622 → | |
| ἃ | ha | what things | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| εἰργασάμεθα, | eirgasametha | we have worked for, | G2038 → | |
| ἀλλὰ | alla | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| μισθὸν | misthon | a reward | G3408 → | |
| πλήρη | plere | full | G4134 → | |
| ἀπολάβητε. | apolabete | you may receive. | G618 → |
βλέπετεdo watch
blepeteG991 →
ἑαυτοὺςyourselves
he'autousG1438 →
ἵναso that
inaG2443 →668 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
ἀπολέσητεyou may lose
apoleseteG622 →
ἃwhat things
haG3739 →1405 times
εἰργασάμεθα,we have worked for,
eirgasamethaG2038 →
ἀλλὰbut
allaG235 →635 times
μισθὸνa reward
misthonG3408 →
πλήρηfull
plereG4134 →
ἀπολάβητε.you may receive.
apolabeteG618 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 3:11I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
it leads to
- James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
- Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Revelation 2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- Revelation 2:25
Nevertheless, hold fast to what you have until I come.
- James 1:12
Through
Hebrews 10:35So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Galatians 6:8–10
The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
- Hebrews 3:6
But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
- Luke 14:14
and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:58
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 John
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, Commentary on 2 John and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 John.