I would give only one of them a number. The other one would not be numbered at all, but would refer to the numbered version. Depending on the text at hand, I would thus choose one of: > *In §3*: > > A very important result is: > > **3.x Lemma.** Every regular doodad is a widgit. > > ---------------- > *In §7*: > > We recall Lemma 3.x: > > **Lemma.** Every regular doodad is a widgit. > > *Proof.* Proof goes here. or > *In §3*: > > A very important result is: > > **Lemma.** Every regular doodad is a widgit. > > ---------- > *In §7*: > > We now prove the important result announced in §3: > > **7.x Lemma.** Every regular doodad is a widgit. > > *Proof.* Proof goes here.