New International 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.
- 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.”
- 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 has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! 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 companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, 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 1:11which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
- Revelation 2:8“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
- Revelation 21:6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
- Isaiah 41:4Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.”
- Isaiah 43:10“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
- Isaiah 44:6“This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
- Isaiah 48:12“Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.
- Revelation 1:4John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
- Revelation 4:8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘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, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
- Revelation 16:14They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
- Revelation 19:15Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
- Revelation 21:22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty 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 before me faithfully and be blameless.
- Genesis 28:3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community 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
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