Revelation 3:17 BSB

Revelation 3:17

You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked:

KJV

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Because thou sayest, I am rich - So far as the language here is concerned, this may refer either to riches literally, or to spiritual riches; that is, to a boast of having religion enough. Prof. Stuart supposes that it refers to the former, and so do Wetstein, Vitringa, and others. Doddridge, Rosenmuller, and others, understand it in the latter sense. There is no doubt that there was much wealth in Laodicea, and that, as a people, they prided themselves on their riches. See the authorities in Wetstein on Col 2:1, and Vitringa, p. 1

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

They were without clothing, had neither the garment of justification nor that of sanctification. Their nakedness both of guilt and pollution had no covering. They lay always exposed to sin and shame.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1677: “A Great Mistake and the Way to Rectify It” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1882)

THESE words were spoken, not to the outside world, but to the Church of Laodicea. They relate to persons who were in a Church state, who had been baptized on confession of their faith in Christ and who were thought to be in a fine spiritual condition. They had a singularly high opinion of themselves and probably considered that of all the seven Churches in Asia, they were the first in power and influence.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Self-sufficiency is the fatal danger of a lukewarm state (see on Re 3:15). thou sayest--virtually and mentally, if not in so many words. increased with goods--Greek, "have become enriched," implying self-praise in self-acquired riches.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

27 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ὅτι	hoti	For	G3754 →
λέγεις	legeis	you say	G3004 →
ὅτι	hoti	that	G3754 →
πλούσιός	plousios	Rich	G4145 →
εἰμι	eimi	I am	G1510 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
πεπλούτηκα	peploutēka	I have grown rich	G4147 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
οὐδὲν	ouden	[of] no [thing]	G3762 →
χρείαν	chreian	need	G5532 →
ἔχω,	echō	I have,	G2192 →
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
οἶδας	oidas	do you understand
ὅτι	hoti	that	G3754 →
σὺ	su	you yourself	G4771 →
εἶ	ei	are	G1510 →
ὁ	ho	<the>	G3588 →
ταλαίπωρος	talaipōros	wretched	G5005 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐλεεινὸς	eleeinos	miserable	G1652 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
πτωχὸς	ptōchos	poor	G4434 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
τυφλὸς	tuphlos	blind	G5185 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
γυμνός,	gumnos	naked,	G1131 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3
  For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Matthew 24:42–43
  Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
- Revelation 3:18
  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to…
- 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…
- Revelation 3:3–4
  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…
Through
Revelation 2:9
I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.
leads to
- Revelation 3:9
  Look at those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead. I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know…
- James 2:5–6
  Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 3:17

The Seven Churches of Revelation

Asia Minor, late 1st century. Seven cities along a clockwise postal route — Ephesus to Laodicea — each receiving a letter from the risen Christ. Praises, rebukes, promises. A Matt-13 parallel reading discoverable for those who want it.

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