Psalms 102:27

102:27 But you remain; ¹ 

your years do not come to an end.

Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ² 

Who ³  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. ⁴ 

Isaiah 45:5

45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, ⁵ 

there is no God but me.

I arm you for battle, ⁶  even though you do not recognize ⁷  me.

Isaiah 45:18

45:18 For this is what the Lord says,

the one who created the sky –

he is the true God, ⁸ 

the one who formed the earth and made it;

he established it,

he did not create it without order, ⁹ 

he formed it to be inhabited –

“I am the Lord, I have no peer.

Isaiah 45:22

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, ¹⁰ 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

Isaiah 46:4

46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, ¹¹ 

even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.

I made you and I will support you;

I will carry you and rescue you. ¹² 

Isaiah 48:12

48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,

Israel, whom I summoned!

I am the one;

I am present at the very beginning

and at the very end. ¹³ 

Hebrews 1:12

1:12 and like a robe you will fold them up

and like a garment ¹⁴  they will be changed,

but you are the same and your years will never run out.” ¹⁵ 

Revelation 1:11

1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, ¹⁶  Smyrna, ¹⁷  Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Revelation 2:8

To the Church in Smyrna

2:8 “To ¹⁸  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ¹⁹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²⁰  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ²¹  came to life:

¹ tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.

² tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

³ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

⁴ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

⁵ tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.

⁶ tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).

⁷ tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”

⁸ tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.

⁹ tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.

¹⁰ tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”

¹¹ tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”

¹² sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.

¹³ tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”

¹⁴ tc The words “like a garment” (ὡς ἱμάτιον, Jw" Jimation) are found in excellent and early mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A B D* 1739) though absent in a majority of witnesses (D¹ Ψ 0243 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy bo). Although it is possible that longer reading was produced by overzealous scribes who wanted to underscore the frailty of creation, it is much more likely that the shorter reading was produced by scribes who wanted to conform the wording to that of Ps 102:26 (101:27 LXX), which here lacks the second “like a garment.” Both external and internal considerations decidedly favor the longer reading, and point to the author of Hebrews as the one underscoring the difference between the Son and creation.

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 102:25-27.

¹⁶ map For location see JP1-D2; JP2-D2; JP3-D2; JP4-D2.

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

²⁰ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present between these two phrases.