Revelation 2:8 BSB — MannaFest

Revelation 2:8

To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and lived again:

KJV

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

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Commentary

3 voices

Bede

Commentary on Revelation (735)

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write. He suggests to this church to endure persecution, to which the name also agrees. For Smyrna means myrrh, which signifies the mortification of the flesh.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Unto the angel - This was probably the famous Polycarp. See below. These things saith the first and the last - He who is eternal; from whom all things come, and to whom all things must return. Which was dead, for the redemption of the world; and is alive to die no more for ever, his glorified humanity being enthroned at the Father’s right hand.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

TERTULLIAN [The Prescription against Heretics, 32], and IRENÃ†US, who had talked with POLYCARP in youth, tell us POLYCARP was consecrated bishop of Smyrna by St. John. the first . . . the last . . . was dead . . . is alive--The attributes of Christ most calculated to comfort the Church of Smyrna under its persecutions; resumed from Re 1:17, 18.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

20 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Καὶ	Kai	And	G2532 →
τῷ	tō	to the	G3588 →
ἀγγέλῳ	angelō	angel	G32 →
τῆς	tēs	of the	G3588 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
Σμύρνῃ	Smurnē	Smyrna	G4667 →
ἐκκλησίας	ekklēsias	church	G1577 →
γράψον·	grapson	do write:	G1125 →
τάδε	tade	These things	G3592 →
λέγει	legei	says	G3004 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
πρῶτος	prōtos	First	G4413 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
ἔσχατος,	eschatos	Last,	G2078 →
ὃς	hos	who	G3739 →
ἐγένετο	egeneto	became	G1096 →
νεκρὸς	nekros	dead	G3498 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἔζησεν·	ezēsen	came to life;	G2198 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
leads to
- Isaiah 44:6
  Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- Revelation 22:13
  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- Isaiah 48:12
  Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.
- Isaiah 43:10
  “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed,…
- Revelation 21:6
  And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
Through
Revelation 2:1
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
leads to
- Revelation 1:20
  This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands…
- Revelation 3:14
  To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God’s creation.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Revelation 1:16
  He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 2:8

The Seven Churches of Revelation

Asia Minor, late 1st century. Seven cities along a clockwise postal route — Ephesus to Laodicea — each receiving a letter from the risen Christ. Praises, rebukes, promises. A Matt-13 parallel reading discoverable for those who want it.

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Walks through Revelation 2

Afterlife Vocabulary

Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus, the Abyss, and Paradise — six words English hid inside one, disambiguated and sourced.

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Walks through Revelation 2

Balaam's Donkey (Numbers 22–24) MannaFest

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Walks through Revelation 2

Manna

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The Ecstasy of Saint Paul — Nicolas Poussin

Walks through Revelation 2

Power Made Perfect in Weakness — 2 Corinthians 12:7–10

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Walks through Revelation 2

The Lampstand

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About Revelation

The Transfiguration — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Revelation: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Continue: Revelation 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Revelation

Where the connections lead

The record, by era

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Revelation