Revelation 3:4

3:4 But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy.

Revelation 7:13

7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?”

Revelation 15:6

15:6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean bright linen, wearing wide golden belts around their chests.

Revelation 18:16

18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,

and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls –

Revelation 19:8

19:8 She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen” (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). 10 


tn Grk “a few names”; here ὄνομα (onoma) is used by figurative extension to mean “person” or “people”; according to L&N 9.19 there is “the possible implication of existence or relevance as individuals.”

tn Or “soiled” (so NAB, NRSV, NIV); NCV “have kept their clothes unstained”; CEV “have not dirtied your clothes with sin.”

tn The word “dressed” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

tn Grk “spoke” or “declared to,” but in the context “asked” reads more naturally in English.

tn Or “wide golden sashes,” but these would not be diagonal, as some modern sashes are, but horizontal. The Greek term can refer to a wide band of cloth or leather worn on the outside of one’s clothing (L&N 6.178).

tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garmentRv 18:12…16; 19:8, 14.”

10 sn This phrase is treated as a parenthetical explanation by the author.