Psalms 10:16

10:16 The Lord rules forever! ¹ 

The nations are driven out of his land. ² 

Psalms 29:10

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ³ 

the Lord sits enthroned ⁴  as the eternal king.

Psalms 90:2

90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence, ⁵ 

or you brought the world into being, ⁶ 

you were the eternal God. ⁷ 

Isaiah 41:4

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ⁸ 

Who ⁹  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. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 44:6

The Absurdity of Idolatry

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

their protector, ¹¹  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

Revelation 1:11

1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, ¹²  Smyrna, ¹³  Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Revelation 1:17-18

1:17 When ¹⁴  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ¹⁷ 

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:

[10:16]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord is king forever and ever.”

[10:16]  ² tn Or “the nations perish from his land.” The perfect verb form may express what is typical or it may express rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude that God’s deliverance is “as good as done.”

[29:10]  ³ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[90:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “were born.”

[90:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.

[90:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (’el, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (’al, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vato’mer, “and you said/say”).

[41:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ⁹ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”

[44:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[1:11]  ¹² map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[1:11]  ¹³ 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.

[1:17]  ¹⁴ 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.

[1:17]  ¹⁵ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

[1:18]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:18]  ¹⁷ 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.”

[2:8]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:8]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present between these two phrases.