Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("is/be present")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, o-rare-ru (おられる) or “is/be present” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Revelation 1:8

This verse brings to an end this section. God’s statement confirms what is said in verse 7.

I am the Alpha and the Omega: Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α), and Omega is the last (Ω). Used of God they indicate the beginning and the end, God’s eternal existence and sovereignty (see 21.6; in 22.13 the words are used of Christ; and see Isa 41.4; 44.6).

Some Greek manuscripts and early versions add “the beginning and the end” as in 21.6; but these words are not genuine here.

To transliterate the Greek letters may not make much sense in some languages, no more than the equivalent first and last letters of that language’s alphabet. Something like “the first and the last” or “the beginning and the end” may be used; or else, “I cause all things to begin, and I bring all things to an end.”

Who is and who was and who is to come: see the translation comments on Rev. 1.4.

Lord: for the translation of Lord and “LORD,” see A Handbook on the Book of Ruth, page 10; A Handbook on the Book of Jonah, pages 6, 19; and A Handbook on the Book of Amos, page 66. In the Old Testament the Hebrew equivalent of the English expression “the Lord” replaced the name of God, which is rendered in English as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.” However, for the most part the term in the New Testament refers to Jesus Christ. In many languages, in this context terms for “Lord” or “LORD” are often rendered “Chief, God,” “Elder Brother, God,” or “The one who Rules, God,” but here it will be helpful to simply say “God,” since the term for “Lord” may refer specifically to Jesus Christ.

The Almighty: “the All-powerful.” This title occurs eight more times in Revelation and appears in 2 Cor 6.18. A translation may imitate Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, and others and join the title to “the Lord God” instead of having it alone at the end of the sentence. Almighty is variously translated as “who has the power,” “who is all powerful,” or “who is the strongest of all.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• “I am the one who causes all things to begin and brings all things to an end,” says (the Lord) God who is all powerful (or, Almighty), who exists now, has always existed, and lives for ever.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 1:8

Paragraph 1:8

1:8a

I am the Alpha and the Omega:
Alpha is the name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the name of the last letter of that alphabet. Here the phrase the Alpha and the Omega is used as a title. It is also a figure of speech. So this saying indicates that:

(a) God is eternal.

(b) He has authority over the beginning and the end of all things. This implies that everything in between the beginning and the end is also under his authority. He has control over all things and events.

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

I am ⌊the One with authority over⌋ the first ⌊things⌋ and the last ⌊things⌋
-or-
I am the One with all authority from start to finish
-or-
I am the start and the finish

You may then want to indicate the literal words and its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Literally: “the Alpha and the Omega.” Alpha and Omega are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This phrase is an idiom. It indicates that God exists eternally and has authority over all things.

• Substitute the first and the last letters of your own alphabet. For example:

I am the A and the Z (God’s Word)

You may then want to indicate the literal words and its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Literally: “the Alpha and the Omega.” Alpha and Omega are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This phrase is an idiom. It indicates that God exists eternally and controls all things.

• Translate literally and explain its meaning in your translation. For example:

I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I am the Alpha and the Omega, ⌊which means I am the One with authority over the first things and the last things⌋
-or-
I am the Alpha and the Omega, ⌊that is, the One who is in control from start to finish⌋

• Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Alpha and Omega are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This phrase is an idiom. It indicates that God exists eternally and controls all things.

This title is similar in meaning to the titles “The First and the Last” (1:17, 2:8, 22:13) and “The Beginning and End” (21:6, 22:13). If possible, you should translate the three titles in similar but different ways. This is helpful, since all three titles occur in 22:13.

I: The pronoun I is emphasized in the Greek. If you have a natural way to emphasize the pronoun I here, you may want to do so.

says the Lord God: The Berean Standard Bible places the phrase says the Lord God after what God said. The Berean Standard Bible also places the verb says before the phrase the Lord God. That order is a poetic English style. The Berean Standard Bible word order follows the Greek word order literally. You should place this phrase where it is most natural in your language.

says: John probably used the present tense to indicate that God always describes himself as the Alpha and the Omega.

the Lord God: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “the one in authority over (others),” or “owner.” Here the word is used to indicate that God has authority over all things. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

God the Lord
-or-
Sovereign God

1:8b

who is and was and is to come—the Almighty: There are two ways to interpret who spoke these words:

(1) Here John spoke about God. Versions that follow this interpretation do not put quotation marks around these words. For example:

the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come—the All-Powerful! (NET Bible)

(2) Here God continued speaking about himself. Versions that follow this interpretation put quotation marks around these words. For example:

“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because 1:8a uses “I” but 1:8b uses a word ending that means “he.”

who is and was and is to come: Translate this saying as you did in 1:4.

the Almighty: The word Almighty means “the one with the power to do anything.” This is a title for God. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the God of all power
-or-
the one who has all power

To translate naturally in your language, you may need to put this title in a separate sentence. For example:

He is the Almighty.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.