Revelation 1:18
New International Version
I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

New Living Translation
I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

English Standard Version
and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Berean Standard Bible
the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

Berean Literal Bible
and the Living One. And I was dead, and behold I am living to the ages of the ages, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

King James Bible
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

New King James Version
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

New American Standard Bible
and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

NASB 1995
and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

NASB 1977
and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Legacy Standard Bible
and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Amplified Bible
and the Ever-living One [living in and beyond all time and space]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of [absolute control and victory over] death and of Hades (the realm of the dead).

Christian Standard Bible
and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.

American Standard Version
and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
I am he who lived and died, and behold, I am alive to the eternity of eternities, amen, and I have the key of Death and of Sheol.

Contemporary English Version
and the living one. I died, but now I am alive forever, and I have the keys to death and the world of the dead.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And alive, and was dead, and behold I am living for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and of hell.

English Revised Version
and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
the living one. I was dead, but now I am alive forever. I have the keys of death and hell.

Good News Translation
I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead.

International Standard Version
the living one. I was dead—but look!—I am alive forever and ever! I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Literal Standard Version
and He who is living, and I became dead, and behold, I am living through the ages of the ages. Amen! And I have the keys of Hades and of death.

Majority Standard Bible
the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever. Amen. And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

New American Bible
the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.

NET Bible
and the one who lives! I was dead, but look, now I am alive--forever and ever--and I hold the keys of death and of Hades!

New Revised Standard Version
and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

New Heart English Bible
and the Living one. I was dead, but look, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of Death and of hell.

Webster's Bible Translation
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Weymouth New Testament
I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!

World English Bible
and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

Young's Literal Translation
and he who is living, and I did become dead, and, lo, I am living to the ages of the ages. Amen! and I have the keys of the hades and of the death.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
John's Vision on Patmos
17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades. 19Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

Job 38:17
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Matthew 11:23
And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

Matthew 16:19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Luke 24:5
As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?

John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.

Romans 6:9
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.


Treasury of Scripture

I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for ever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

that liveth.

Job 19:25
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Psalm 18:46
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

John 14:19
Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

was.

Romans 14:8,9
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's…

2 Corinthians 5:14,15
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: …

Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

I am alive.

Revelation 4:9
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

Revelation 5:14
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Hebrews 7:16,25
Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life…

the keys.

Revelation 3:7
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Revelation 9:1
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Revelation 20:1,2,14
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand…

Jump to Previous
Ages Alive Amen Dead Death Died Evermore Forevermore Gates Hades Hell Hold Keys
Jump to Next
Ages Alive Amen Dead Death Died Evermore Forevermore Gates Hades Hell Hold Keys
Revelation 1
1. The preface.
4. John's salutation to the seven churches of Asia.
7. The coming of Christ.
8. His glorious power and majesty.














(18) I am he that liveth, and was dead.--Better, and the living One (omit the words "I am"); and I became dead; and, behold, I am alive (or, I am living) unto the ages of ages (or, for evermore), "Amen" is omitted in the best MSS. This verse must be carefully kept in connection with the preceding, as the description should go on without pause. He is the living One--not merely one who once was alive, or is now alive--but the One who has "life in Himself, and the fountain and source of life to others, John 1:4; John 14:6; the One who hath immortality," 1Timothy 6:16 (Trench). Yet He became dead. There are two wonders here: the living One becomes dead, and the dead One is alive for evermore. It is another form of the glorious truth and paradox of which the Apostles were so fond (Philippians 2:8-9; Hebrews 2:9). Comp. Christ's words, Luke 9:24, and Luke 13:43, which contain promises which He only could make who could say, "I have the keys of death and of Hades." The order of these words has been transposed in our English version. The true order is the more appropriate order, "For Hades is the vast unseen realm into which men are ushered by death; dark and mysterious as that realm was, and dreaded as was its monarch, our risen Lord has both under His power. The keys are the emblems of His right and authority." (Comp. Revelation 3:7-8.) It is not of the second death that He speaks; our Lord is here seen as the conqueror of that clouded region, and that resistless foe which man dreaded. (Comp. John 11:25; Hebrews 2:15.) Comp. Henry Vaughan's quaint poem "An Easter Hymn"-- . . . Verse 18. - I am he that liveth. This should be joined with what precedes. "I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I became dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." "Became" or "came to be" (ἐγενόμην), as in vers. 9 and 10, indicates an exceptional condition. The "Amen" has been improperly inserted after "forevermore" (see on "forever and ever," in ver. 6) from liturgical usage. Most English versions omit it. The keys, as so often, are the sign of authority (Revelation 3:7; Revelation 9:1; Revelation 20:1; Matthew 16:19). Christ, as the absolutely Living One, who "has life in himself" and is the Source of life in others, has control, not merely over the passage from this world to the other, but over the other world itself. He can recall departed souls from their resting place. The error of rendering Αιδης "hell" has often been pointed out; it is not a place of punishment, but the temporary home of the departed, who are awaiting the day of judgment. "Death," in all the best manuscripts and versions precedes "Hades;" and this is the logical order.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
the
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Living [One].
Ζῶν (Zōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live.

I was
ἐγενόμην (egenomēn)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.

dead,
νεκρὸς (nekros)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3498: (a) adj: dead, lifeless, subject to death, mortal, (b) noun: a dead body, a corpse. From an apparently primary nekus; dead.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

behold,
ἰδοὺ (idou)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 2400: See! Lo! Behold! Look! Second person singular imperative middle voice of eido; used as imperative lo!

[now] I am
εἰμι (eimi)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

alive
ζῶν (zōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live.

forever
αἰῶνας (aiōnas)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 165: From the same as aei; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity; by implication, the world; specially a Messianic period.

[and]
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

ever!
αἰώνων (aiōnōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 165: From the same as aei; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity; by implication, the world; specially a Messianic period.

And
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

I hold
ἔχω (echō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

the
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

keys
κλεῖς (kleis)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2807: A key. From kleio; a key, literally or figuratively.

of
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Death
θανάτου (thanatou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2288: Death, physical or spiritual. From thnesko; death.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

of
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Hades.
ᾅδου (hadou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.


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NT Prophecy: Revelation 1:18 And the Living one (Rev. Re Apocalypse)
Revelation 1:17
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