Revelation 2:16

2:16 Therefore, ¹  repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people ²  with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 2:5

2:5 Therefore, remember from what high state ³  you have fallen and repent! Do ⁴  the deeds you did at the first; ⁵  if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place – that is, if you do not repent. ⁶ 

Revelation 3:3

3:3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard, ⁷  and obey it, ⁸  and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never ⁹  know at what hour I will come against ¹⁰  you.

[2:16]  ¹ tc The “therefore” (οὖν, oun) is not found in א 2053 2329 2351 Ï^A or the Latin mss. It is, however, included in impressive witnesses such as {A C 046 1006 1611 sy^p,h co}. Though the conjunction looks at first glance like a scribal clarification, its omission may be explained on the basis of its similarity to the last three letters of the verb “repent” (μετανόησον, metanohson; since οὖν is a postpositive conjunction in Greek, the final three letters of the verb [-σον, -son] would have been immediately followed by ουν). A scribe could have simply passed over the conjunction in his copy when he saw the last three letters of the imperative verb. A decision is difficult, however, because of the motivation to add to the text and the quality of witnesses that lack the conjunction.

[2:16]  ² tn Grk “with them”; the referent (those people who follow the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ³ tn Grk “from where,” but status is in view rather than physical position. On this term BDAG 838 s.v. πόθεν 1 states, “from what place? from where?…In imagery μνημόνευε πόθεν πέπτωκες remember from what (state) you have fallen Rv 2:5.”

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “and do” (a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text). For stylistic reasons in English a new sentence was started here in the translation. The repeated mention of repenting at the end of the verse suggests that the intervening material (“do the deeds you did at first”) specifies how the repentance is to be demonstrated.

[2:5]  ⁵ tn Or “you did formerly.”

[2:5]  ⁶ tn Although the final clause is somewhat awkward, it is typical of the style of Revelation.

[3:3]  ⁵ tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pw" eilhfa" kai hkousa") probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.

[3:3]  ⁷ tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).

[3:3]  ⁸ tn Or “come on.”