I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
- KJV I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
- BSB I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- NKJV I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
- NLT I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus identifies himself as the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and End. He claims the eternal sovereignty that belongs to God.
Overview
These titles, used of God in 1:8 and 21:6, are here applied directly to Jesus, affirming his full deity and lordship over all history. Christ encompasses all things from creation to consummation. This assures believers that the One who began their salvation will surely bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rev 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- Rev 21:6He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
- Isa 44:6This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
- Isa 48:12“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I am also the last.
- Isa 41:4Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he.”
- Rev 1:17When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- Rev 1:11saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 22:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.