Hebrews 1
1 After God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets long ago in many pieces and in many ways, 2 in these last days, he spoke to us througha a son, whom he designated as heir of everything and through whom he made the Age.b 3 Since the son is the shining projection of his praiseworthy presencec and the engraved image of his fundamental nature, and he sustains everything with his powerful speech,d he sat at the prestigious right hande in high places after accomplishing a cleansing of deviations. 4 So he became as much more important than the messengers as he has inherited a superior name compared with them.
5 You see, to which of the messengersf did Godg ever say, “You are my son. Today I have birthedh you”i? Or again, “I will become a father to him, and he will become a son to me”j? 6 But when he brings the firstborn into the inhabited landk again, he says to have “all God’s messengers bow down to him,”l 7 and, while he says for the messengers, “The one who makes the winds his messengers and fiery flames his attendants,”m 8 in contrast, for the son, he says, “God, your throne isn throughout age after age, and the scepter of your reign is a straighto scepter.p 9 You loved justness and loathed torahlessness; because of this, God—your God—anointedq you with oil of celebration beyondr your partners.”s 10 Also, “You laid the foundation for the land at the beginning, Lord, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will come to ruin, but you continue on, and the entire things will wear out like clothing, 12 and you will fold them up as if they were a robe, and they will be replaced like clothing, but you are the same, and your years will never come to an end.”t 13 But, for which of the messengers has he ever said, “Sit at my right, until I place your enemies as footstools for your feet”?u 14 Aren’t they all attending windsv who are sent to serve amongw those who are going to inherit liberation?
FOOTNOTES:
a The preposition en used here is the same as the one used to describe ‘through the prophets.’
b Traditionally, ‘world,’ but this is not kosmos (‘world system’ or ‘whole world’). Instead, this is aion, the word translated as ‘an age’ or ‘an eon’ or ‘a REALLY long time.’ It is often used to refer to the Age to come, the Age of the New Heavens and New Earth, and it can also refer to ‘this present age’ that is organized in a way that is counter to the teachings and example of Christ. Other translations use ‘world’ to mean ‘the way things are and all that is present during the age.’
c Traditionally, ‘glory’
d Traditionally, ‘word’ but this is not the Greek logos. This word rhema overlaps with the definitions of logos somewhat, but they are not perfect synonyms.
e Some take this phase ‘right hand of the Prestige’ (traditionally, ‘right hand of the Majesty) to be an honorific for God, which is another possible way to interpret the Greek.
f The word angelos means ‘messenger,’ possibly used for spirit beings, but also used for human agents of God (or other people) and sometimes even for natural phenomena. It conveys the meaning of someone authorized to speak—or act—on behalf of another. If the reader wants to read these messengers (acting on God’s behalf) as celestial beings, great. If as humans, great. Of note, the text referred to prophets in verse 1, which seems likely to indicate that human prophets are the messengers in view; however, spirit-being messengers could also be in view. The word angelos, even for spirit-beings, is a job title, not a ‘species’ classification. The work of Michael S. Heiser is a great source of information on this topic.
g There is no Greek word here, but the verb is a 3rd person form (he/she/it), referring back to ‘God’ in verse 1.
h This word can be used in various contexts, such as conceiving a child and referring to the father (historically, it is translated as ‘begotten’ with that usage but more contemporary versions uses ‘fathered’ for that idea). The same word is also used of mothers giving birth. The core idea is to cause to come into being, to produce new life.
i Quotation of Psalm 2:7
j Quotation of 2 Samuel 7:14 and 1 Chronicles 17:13
k While this word has traditionally been translated as ‘world,’ it is not the usual Greek word (kosmos). Instead, it is oikomoune, which means very literally ‘that which is inhabited or settled.’ It can be translated as something like ‘inhabited land’ or ‘known world’ or ‘civilized world/land.’
l This quotation is of Psalm 97:7 with some small noteworthy changes. The quotation is of the Greek version of the Psalms, which includes the Greek word angeloi theou, ‘messengers of God.’ The Hebrew version of that verse uses elohim, ‘gods’ instead. The grammar is also slightly different, in that ‘bow down’ (proskuneo) is a addressed directly to the angeloi (2nd person) in the Psalm—“All [you] messengers of God, bow down to him”—but is about them (3 person mandative) here in Hebrews 1:6—“Have all the messengers of God bow down to him.”
m This quotation is from Psalm 104:4. The context of the psalm is God being surrounded and adorned by creation. The Greek here is a direct quotation of the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) version of Psalm 104. The words angelous (messengers) and pneumata (winds) are both in the accusative case (identifying the direct object of the verb), as are both leitourgous (servants) and phloga (flames). The fact that they share the same case means that the grammar could be correct with either order—‘makes the winds his messengers’ or ‘makes his messengers the winds.’ The grammar does not clarify which is correct. It is entirely up to context. The context of Psalm 104 clearly points to it being ‘makes the winds his messengers,’ which is how most translations handle it in Psalm 104, including the NET, NIV, NASB, NRSV, NJB, and CEB. The ESV and KJV translate it with the opposite order in Psalm 104. In contrast—with identical Greek between the Septuagint version of Psalm 104:4 and the text of Hebrews 1:7—the NET, NIV, NASB, NRSV, ESV, and KJV all list the opposite order in Hebrews 1:7, ‘makes his angels [messengers] winds.’ The two that remain true to the Psalm are the CEB and the NJB: “the one who uses the spirits for his messengers and who uses flames of fire as ministers” (CEB) and “appointing the winds his messengers and flames of fire his servants” (NJB).
n Or the grammar could equally be translated as ‘Your throne is God throughout age after age’ or ‘God is your throne throughout age after age.’
o Traditionally, ‘righteous.’ However, the word is not the usual dikaios, but euthutes, which means ‘straight,’ ‘aligned,’ ‘unbent.’ Dikaios shares similar meanings but is usually used in terms of being just, ‘straight’ in the sense of aligned with a standard of values and conduct, or like scales in questions of justice.
p Or ‘staff’ like a shepherd’s staff, such as Moses carried in the wilderness
q ‘Anoint’ is a good word here, but it is not explicitly a religious word. It means ‘smear with oil’ or ‘apply ointment.’ What makes ‘anointing’ sacred or religious is not the word itself but the symbolism given to the action.
r The Greek preposition para can be translated several ways. This quotation is of the Greek version (Septuagint) of Psalm 45. The Hebrew version has the preposition m- here, which carries very similar meanings to para. The possibilities that they both share are ‘from,’ ‘of,’ ‘more than,’ ‘beyond,’ ‘because of,’ and ‘for.’ In the context of the psalm and of Hebrews 1, it seems to be describing how the one being discussed is outstanding, more noteworthy than others. Therefore, ‘beyond’ seems to be the best fit. However, ‘from among’ could be appropriate, and ‘for’ also would be appropriate within the larger discussion of Christ, though would not be the best fit in the immediate context.
s Quotation of Psalm 45:6-7
t Quotation of Psalm 102:25-27
u Quotation of Psalm 110:1
v Reference to Hebrews 1:7. ‘Winds’ (pneuma) could also be translated as ‘life-breaths’ or ‘spirit-breaths.’
w Or ‘because of’