Revelation 16:15

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Behold	ἰδοὺ idou	G2400	used as imperative lo! · interjection
come	ἔρχομαι erchomai	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
thief	κλέπτης. kleptēs	G2812	a stealer (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
Blessed	μακάριος makarios	G3107	supremely blest · adjective — nominative singular masculine
he	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
watcheth	γρηγορῶν grēgorōn	G1127	to keep awake · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
keepeth	τηρῶν tērōn	G5083	perhaps akin to G2334 (θεωρέω)) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
his	αὐτοῦ, autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
garments	ἱμάτια himatia	G2440	a dress (inner or outer) · noun — accusative plural neuter
lest	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
walk	περιπατῇ peripatēa	G4043	to tread all around · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
naked	γυμνὸς gumnos	G1131	nude (absolute or relative · adjective — nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
see	βλέπωσιν blepōsin	G991	to look at (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
his	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
shame	ἀσχημοσύνην aschēmosunēn	G808	an indecency · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Matthew 24:42-43 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements sha…
Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the s…
Revelation 3:3-4 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a…
Luke 12:37-43 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make th…
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mark 13:33-37 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 16:12-16

The sixth angel poured out his vial; and observe, I. Where it fell - upon the great river Euphrates. Some take it literally, for the place where the Turkish power and empire began; and they think this is a prophecy of the destruction of the Turkish monarchy and of idolatry, which they suppose will be effected about the same time with that of the papacy, as another antichrist, and that thereby a way shall be made for the conveniency of the Jews, those princes of the east. Others take it for the river Tiber; for, as Rome is mystical Babylon, Tiber is mystical Euphrates. And when Rome shall be destroyed her river and merchandise must suffer with her. II. What did this vial produce? 1. The dryin…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 16:15

The gathering of the world kings with the beast against the Lamb is the signal for Christ's coming; therefore He here gives the charge to be watching for His coming and clothed in the garments of justification and sanctification, so as to be accepted. thief-- (Mat 24:43; Pe2 3:10). they--saints and angels. shame--literally, "unseemliness" (Greek, "aschemosunee"): Greek, Co1 13:5 : a different word from the Greek in Rev 3:18 (Greek, "aischunee").

Adam Clarke on Revelation 16:15

Behold, I come as a thief - Here is a sudden but timely warning to put every man on his guard, when this sudden and generally unexpected tribulation should take place. Keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked - Here is a plain allusion to the office of him who was called the prefect or overseer, of the mountain of the temple. His custom was to go his rounds during the watches of the night; and if he found any of the Levites sleeping on his watch, he had authority to beat him with a stick, and burn his vestments. See Middoth, fol. 34, 1, and Tamid. fol. 27, 2; 28, 1. Such a person being found on his return home naked, it was at once known that he had been found asleep at his post, had been be…

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John Gill

The Church Fathers

Behold, I come like a thief. Another edition more fittingly has: To the great day of Almighty God. Behold, he comes like a thief.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, etc. Blessed are those whose sins are covered (Psalm 31), who cover the shame of a blameworthy life before the eyes of the just with the cloak of subsequent good works. And in the Gospel, the Lord, using the example of avoiding a thief, commands the servants to be watchful.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

The apostle also says, "He will come like a thief in the night." … [The apostle] says, "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." I think that here he urges that these vestments be preserved so that they will not be torn asunder by repeated baptism or besprinkled and stained by the spots of sins. In either case the ugliness of their treachery is uncovered which might have been avoided had their intention been preserved with a greater vigilance.
— Ticonius, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 16:15

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Blessed, The · Who watch against sin — Who watch against sin
Garment · Of righteousness — Of righteousness
Good And Evil · Conflict between — Conflict between
Perseverance · 1:10,22,23;2:7; — 1:10,22,23;2:7;
Second Coming Of Christ, The · The Manner of: As a thief in the night — The Manner of: As a thief in the night
Watchfulness · 4:2,17; — 4:2,17;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 16:12-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 16:15

Adam Clarke on Revelation 16:15

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 16:12-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 16:15

Adam Clarke on Revelation 16:15

John Gill

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 16:15