Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ¹ 

Who ²  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ³ 

Isaiah 44:6

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ⁴  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

Deuteronomy 32:39

The Vindication of the Lord

32:39 “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, ⁵ 

“and there is no other god besides me.

I kill and give life,

I smash and I heal,

and none can resist ⁶  my power.

Revelation 1:8

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” ⁷  says the Lord God – the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come – the All-Powerful! ⁸ 

Revelation 1:11

1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, ⁹  Smyrna, ¹⁰  Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Revelation 1:17-18

1:17 When ¹¹  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ¹²  he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 1:18 and the one who lives! I ¹³  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ¹⁴ 

Revelation 2:8

To the Church in Smyrna

2:8 “To ¹⁵  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ¹⁶ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁷  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ¹⁸  came to life:

Revelation 22:13

22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the first and the last,

the beginning and the end!) ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

³ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

⁴ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

⁵ tn Verses 39-42 appear to be a quotation of the Lord and so the introductory phrase “says the Lord” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “deliver from” (so NRSV, NLT).

⁷ tc The shorter reading “Omega” (ὦ, w) has superior ms evidence ({א¹ A C 1611}) to the longer reading which includes “the beginning and the end” (ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος or ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος, arch kai telo" or Jh arch kai to telo"), found in א*^,2 1854 2050 2329 2351 Ï^A lat bo. There is little reason why a scribe would have deleted the words, but their clarifying value and the fact that they harmonize with 21:6 indicate that they are a secondary addition to the text.

⁸ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

⁹ map For location see JP1-D2; JP2-D2; JP3-D2; JP4-D2.

¹⁰ tn Grk “and to Smyrna.” For stylistic reasons the conjunction καί (kai) and the preposition εἰς (eis) have not been translated before the remaining elements of the list. In lists with more than two elements contemporary English generally does not repeat the conjunction except between the next to last and last elements.

¹¹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹² tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁴ tn Concerning “Hades” BDAG 19 s.v. ᾅδης 1 and 2 states: “Orig. proper noun, god of the nether world, ‘Hades’, then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead, Ac 2:27, 31 (Ps 15:10; Eccl 9:10; PGM 1, 179; 16, 8; Philo, Mos. 1, 195; Jos., Bell. 1, 596, Ant. 6, 332). Of Jonah’s fish ἐκ τοῦ κατωτάτου ᾅδου. In the depths, contrasted w. heaven ἕως (τοῦ) ᾅδου Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15 (PsSol 15:10; cp.; Is 14:11, 15); ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ 16:23; ἐν ῝Αιδου ApcPt Rainer. Accessible by gates (but the pl. is also used [e.g. Hom., X., Ael. Aristid. 47, 20 K.=23 p. 450 D.] when only one gate is meant), hence πύλαι ᾅδου (Il. 5, 646; Is 38:10; Wsd 16:13; 3 Macc 5:51; Pss. Sol. 16:2. – Lucian, Menipp. 6 the magicians can open τοῦ ῝Αιδου τὰς πύλας and conduct people in and out safely) Mt 16:18…locked ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου Rv 1:18 (the genitives are either obj. [Ps.-Apollod. 3, 12, 6, 10 Aeacus, the son of Zeus holds the κλεῖς τοῦ ῝Αιδου; SEG VIII, 574, 3 (III ad) τῷ τὰς κλεῖδας ἔχοντι τῶν καθ᾿ ῝Αιδου (restored)] or possess.; in the latter case death and Hades are personif.; s. 2)…Hades personif.…w. θάνατος (cp. Is 28:15; Job 38:17…) Rv 6:8; 20:13f.”

¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁶ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

¹⁷ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present between these two phrases.

¹⁹ sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator.