Revelation 3:17 (WEB)

Passage

Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;

Nearby Context

Revelation 3:15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.

Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;

Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.

Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rich", "gotten", "riches", "need", "nothing", "wretched", "miserable", and "poor". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rich" and "gotten", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "So because you are lukewarm and neither..." into verse 18's "I counsel you to buy from me...", so "rich" and "gotten" belong inside that flow. In Revelation context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "rich" and "gotten" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.