Bible Strands
Revelation 3:15
I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus, identified in the preceding verse as "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God's creation," addresses the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the third of seven letters to churches in Revelation 3.
The words — ψυχρός (psuchros), "cold," is a physical term for low temperature pressed into service for a spiritual state. The double negative οὔτε...οὔτε (neither...nor) frames the entire diagnosis: the problem is not excess but indecision.
The thread — Elijah's challenge in 1 Kings 18:21 ("How long will you waver between two opinions?") is the closest parallel in tone and structure. Matthew 6:24 reinforces the same logic: devotion must settle on one master or the other.
Why it lands — The verse does not commend coldness or hotness; it condemns the refusal to take either position. A reader is asked to determine whether their faith is a settled conviction or a comfortable ambiguity.
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
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Cross-references
- Romans 12:11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
- Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- 1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
- James 1:8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
- Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.
- Psalms 81:11 But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
- Matthew 24:12 Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
- Proverbs 23:26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
- Zephaniah 1:5 those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
- 2 Corinthians 12:20 For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.