To the Church in Sardis

3 “Write this to the ·angel [messenger; see 1:20] of the church in ·Sardis [^Cthe capital of the Roman province of Lydia in western Asia Minor]:

“The One [^Cthe resurrected Jesus] who has the ·seven spirits [^Creferring either to angels or to the “sevenfold Spirit”—the Holy Spirit portrayed in his perfection; 1:4] and the seven stars [1:16] says ·this [^Lthese things]: I know ·what you do [your works]. ·People say [^LYou have a name/reputation] that you are alive, but really you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what you have left ·before it dies completely [or which is about to die]. I have found that ·what you are doing is less than what my God wants [^Lyour works are incompleted/unfulfilled before my God]. ³ So ·do not forget [^Lremember] what you have received and heard. Obey it, and ·change your hearts and lives [repent]. ·So you must wake up, or [^LBut if you do not wake up,] I will come like a thief, and you will not know ·when [^Lat what hour] I will come ·to [upon; against] you. ⁴ But you have a ·few [few people; ^Lfew names] there in Sardis who have kept their clothes ·unstained [unsoiled; undefiled], so they will walk with me ·and will wear white clothes [^Lin white], because they are worthy. ⁵ Those who ·win the victory [overcome; conquer] will be dressed in white clothes like them. And I will ·not [never; ^Can emphatic negation] erase [wipe out; blot out] their names from the ·book [scroll] of life [Ex. 32:32–33; Ps. 69:28; Dan. 12:1], but I will ·say they belong to me [^Lconfess their names] before my Father and before his angels. ⁶ Everyone who has ears should ·listen to [hear; obey] what the Spirit says to the churches.