English Standard Version
Revelation 1:8
8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
Context of Revelation 1:8
6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and 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 tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." 9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
Read all of Revelation 1Revelation 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 what you see in a book 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 of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
- Revelation 21:6And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
- Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
- Isaiah 41:4Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; 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 no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
- Isaiah 44:6Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
- Isaiah 48:12"Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.
- Revelation 1:4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
- Revelation 4:8And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"
- Revelation 11:17saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
- Revelation 16:14For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
- Revelation 19:15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
- Revelation 21:22And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
- Genesis 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
- Genesis 28:3God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries