Bible Strands
2 John 1:8
Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The elder John writes to a community (or individual) under threat from deceivers who deny Christ's bodily coming (v. 7). This verse is the pivot between that warning and the call to remain in Christ's teaching (v. 9).
The words — εἰργασαμένοι (eirgasametha), "we have worked for," uses the labor verb ergazomai, the same root behind "wages," framing the Christian life as active work rather than passive reception.
The thread — The same hold-fast-and-reward logic appears in Hebrews 10:35 (do not throw away confidence; it holds a great reward), Revelation 3:11 (hold fast so no one takes your crown), and 1 Corinthians 3:14 (if what he built survives, he will receive a reward).
Why it lands — The demand is vigilance, not enthusiasm: watch yourself so you do not lose what has already been worked for. The reward is full, but the condition is retention, not accumulation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
Cross-references
- Hebrews 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
- Revelation 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
- 1 Corinthians 3:14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.
- 1 Corinthians 3:8 He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
- Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Galatians 3:4 Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?
- Mark 13:9 So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
- John 4:36 Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.
- Matthew 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- Luke 21:8 Jesus answered, “See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.