Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
- BSB Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.
- NKJV Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
- NASB Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.
- NLT Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Christ commands them to repent, or he will come and war against the false teachers with the sword of his mouth. It matters because unrepented compromise invites Christ's judgment.
Overview
The call to repentance is urgent, addressed especially to the church's toleration of error. The "sword of his mouth" recalls his judging word from verse 12. Christ's warning shows his determination to purify his people, whether through their repentance or his intervention.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 2 Th 2:8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
- Rev 1:16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
- Rev 2:5Remember 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.
- Eph 6:17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
- Rev 19:21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
- Rev 19:15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
- Isa 11:4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
- Isa 49:2And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
- Rev 2:12And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
- Acts 17:30–31And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Rev 2:21–22And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
- Rev 16:9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
- Rev 22:7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 2:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.