Psalms 90:2

90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence, ¹ 

or you brought the world into being, ² 

you were the eternal God. ³ 

Psalms 102:24-27

102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! ⁴ 

You endure through all generations. ⁵ 

102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;

the skies are your handiwork.

102:26 They will perish,

but you will endure. ⁶ 

They will wear out like a garment;

like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. ⁷ 

102:27 But you remain; ⁸ 

your years do not come to an end.

Hebrews 1:10-12

1:10 And,

“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, ⁹ 

and the heavens are the works of your hands.

1:11 They will perish, but you continue.

And they will all grow old like a garment,

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

and like a garment ¹⁰  they will be changed,

but you are the same and your years will never run out.” ¹¹ 

Hebrews 13:8

13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!

Revelation 1:8

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” ¹²  says the Lord God – the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come – the All-Powerful! ¹³ 

Revelation 1:11

1:11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches – to Ephesus, ¹⁴  Smyrna, ¹⁵  Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Revelation 1:17-18

1:17 When ¹⁶  I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸  was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades! ¹⁹ 

Revelation 2:8

To the Church in Smyrna

2:8 “To ²⁰  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ²¹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²²  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ²³  came to life:

[90:2]  ¹ tn Heb “were born.”

[90:2]  ² 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]  ³ 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”).

[102:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”

[102:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”

[102:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “stand.”

[102:26]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.

[102:27]  ⁸ 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.

[1:10]  ⁹ sn You founded the earth…your years will never run out. In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.

[1:12]  ¹⁰ 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.

[1:12]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Ps 102:25-27.

[1:8]  ¹² 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.

[1:8]  ¹³ 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.”

[1:11]  ¹⁴ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[1:11]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Here the Greek conjunction καί (kai) has been translated as a contrastive (“but”) due to the contrast between the two clauses.

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

[1:18]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:8]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:8]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present between these two phrases.