Hebrews

Long ago, on many occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, the people who carried his messages.

1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Note"Sundry times and in divers manners" is 1611 English for "on many occasions and in many different ways." "The fathers" means the ancestors of Israel, the earlier generations the prophets were sent to.

2But in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. God appointed the Son to inherit everything, and it was through the Son that he made the universe.

2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Note"These last days" is a phrase taken over from the Hebrew prophets for the closing stretch of history, the period in which God brings his dealings with the world to their conclusion; the writer is saying that period has now begun. Where the King James says "the worlds," the Greek word is literally "the ages," which covers time as well as space: the whole created order from start to finish.

3The Son is the shining out of God's glory and the exact likeness of God's own being, and he holds everything up by his powerful word. After he had, by himself, made our sins clean, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

3Who 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;

Note"Express image" translates a Greek word meaning the mark left by an engraved die, like the stamp on a coin: exact because it is struck from the original itself. "Purged our sins" uses the language of the temple, where cleansing removed what made a person unfit to come near God. The place at a ruler's right hand was the position of highest honor, and sitting down, rather than standing to wait on him, signals work that is finished. "The Majesty on high" is a respectful way of saying God without using the name, common in Jewish writing of this period.

4So the Son became as far above the angels as the name he has inherited is greater than theirs.

4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Note"Name" here carries the sense of rank and standing, what a person is known as and entitled to, not simply what he is called.

5For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?

5For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

NoteTwo quotations from the Hebrew scriptures. The first is Psalm 2:7, words used at the crowning of a king of Israel; "this day have I begotten thee" marked the day the king was installed and publicly declared God's son. The second is 2 Samuel 7:14, God's promise to David about his descendant.

6And again, when God brings his firstborn Son into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

6And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Note"Firstbegotten" is the older form of "firstborn." In that culture the eldest son held a rank the other children did not, including a double share of the inheritance, so the word is about standing at least as much as birth order. The quotation follows the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, which this writer uses throughout; the surviving Hebrew of the passage (Deuteronomy 32:43) reads differently.

7About the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."

7And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

NoteA quotation of Psalm 104:4. The Greek word behind the King James "spirits" also means "winds," and the same double sense exists in the Hebrew, so the line can be read either as God making his angels into winds and flames or as God making winds and flames his messengers. "Ministers" here means servants or attendants, not preachers.

8But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, stands for ever and ever, and the staff you rule with is a staff of justice.

8But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

NoteA quotation of Psalm 45:6, originally a song for a royal wedding. A "sceptre" was the ornamented rod a ruler held, the visible sign of his right to govern, so a scepter of righteousness means government that is just. The Greek of the first line is genuinely ambiguous and can be read either as addressing the Son as God ("Your throne, O God") or as saying "God is your throne"; ancient and modern readers have taken it both ways.

9You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong. That is why God, your God, has poured out on you the oil of joy, setting you above your companions."

9Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

NoteAnointing meant pouring olive oil over the head, the ceremony that installed a king in office. Oil and scented ointment also marked a celebration or a feast, which is why it is called the oil of gladness. "Fellows" is 1611 English for companions, the others in the same company.

10And he also says, "In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

10And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

NoteA quotation of Psalm 102:25, where the words are addressed to God; the writer applies them to the Son.

11They will come to an end, but you remain. They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.

11They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

Note"Wax old" uses "wax" in its older sense of grow or become, as in a waxing moon.

12You will roll them up like a coat, and they will be changed like clothing. But you stay the same, and your years will never run out."

12And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

NoteA "vesture" is an outer garment, a cloak of the kind worn over other clothes and folded away when not in use.

13But to which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

13But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

NoteA quotation of Psalm 110:1. A throne had a footstool in front of it, and ancient carvings show kings resting their feet on the necks of defeated enemies, so putting enemies under the feet was a standard picture of complete victory.

14Are not all the angels spirits whose work is to serve? They are sent out to help those who are going to inherit salvation.

14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?