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

6He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. 7Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen! “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.” 9I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.

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 1:11It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
• Revelation 2:8“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:
• Revelation 21:6And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs 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 such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he.”
• Isaiah 43:10“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be.
• Isaiah 44:6This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.
• Isaiah 48:12“Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last.
• Revelation 1:4This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;
• Revelation 4:8Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
• Revelation 11:17And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.
• Revelation 16:14They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.
• Revelation 19:15From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.
• Revelation 21:22I saw no temple in the city, for 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 El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.
• Genesis 28:3May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!

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