Revelation 1:8

Revelation 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
• New International Version (NIV)“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Context of Revelation 1:8

6and formed us into a kingdom [as His subjects], priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath]. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God, “Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].” 9I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, [exiled there] because of [my preaching of] the word of God [regarding eternal salvation] and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10I was in the Spirit [in special communication with the Holy Spirit and empowered to receive and record the revelation from Jesus Christ] on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,

Revelation 1:8 word by word

Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ὁ παντοκράτωρ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• amεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• Alphaὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Alphaα, ἈλφαA · AlphaG1
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• Omegaω, ὮμέγαŌ · OmegaG5598
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• the endingτέλοςtelos · goal/taxG5056
• saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• which is to comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• the Almightyπαντοκράτωρpantokratōr · almightyG3841

Cross-references for Revelation 1:8

• Revelation 1:11saying, “Write on a scroll what you see [in this revelation], and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
• Revelation 2:8“And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God] who died and came to life [again]:
• Revelation 21:6And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost.
• Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One].”
• Isaiah 41:4Who has performed and done this, Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.’ ”
• Isaiah 43:10“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.
• Isaiah 44:6“For the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts says this, ‘I am the First and I am the Last; And there is no God besides Me.
• Isaiah 48:12“Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called; I am He, I am the First, I am the Last.
• Revelation 1:4John, to the seven churches that are in [the province of] Asia: Grace [be granted] to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being], from Him Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before His throne,
• Revelation 4:8And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”
• Revelation 11:17saying, “To You we give thanks, O Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], Who are and Who were, because You have taken Your great power and the sovereignty [which is rightly Yours] and have [now] begun to reign.
• Revelation 16:14for they are [actually] the spirits of demons, performing [miraculous] signs. And they go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
• Revelation 19:15From His mouth comes a sharp sword (His word) with which He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty [in judgment of the rebellious world].
• Revelation 21:22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] and the Lamb are its temple.
• Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].
• Genesis 28:3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a [great] company of peoples.

Commentaries on Revelation 1:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8I am Alpha and Omega - I am from eternity to eternity. This mode of speech is borrowed from the Jews, who express the whole compass of things by א aleph and ת tau, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet; but as St. John was writing in Greek, he accommodates the whole to the Greek alphabet, of which alpha and omega are the first and last letters. With the rabbins ת ועד מא meeleph vead tau, "from aleph to tau," expressed the whole of a matter…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8I am Alpha and Omega - These are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, and denote properly the first and the last. So in Revelation 22:13, where the two expressions are united, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” So in Revelation 1:17, the speaker says of himself, “I am the first and the last.” Among the Jewish rabbis it was common to use the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to denote…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-8Verses 4-8 There can be no true peace, where there is not true grace; and where grace goeth before, peace will follow. This blessing is in the name of God, of the Holy Trinity, it is an act of adoration. The Father is first named; he is described as the Jehovah who is, and who was, and who is to come, eternal, unchangeable. The Holy Spirit is called the seven spirits, the perfect Spirit of God, in whom there is a diversity of gifts and operations. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8I am is the name of God in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:13–14; 6:2; Deuteronomy 6:4). Jesus used this name for himself (compare John 4:26). Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. They show that God's actions cover everything. God is completely in control.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Greek, "I am the Alpha and the Omega." The first and last letters of the alphabet. God in Christ comprises all that goes between, as well as the first and last. the beginning and the ending--omitted in the oldest manuscripts, though found in Vulgate and Coptic. Transcribers probably inserted the clause from Re 21:6. In Christ, Genesis, the Alpha of the Old Testament, and Revelation, the Omega of the New Testament, meet together: the last book…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 1:8

• Alpha
• Jesus Continued
• Omega

In the dictionaries

• Alpha and Omega
• Alpha
• Beginning
• Jehovah
• Key
• Omega
• Star
• Alliance
• Asia Minor
• Canon of the New Testament

Commentaries on Revelation 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings