A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Hebrews 1
Hebrews 1 is the opening chapter of the fifty-eighth book of the Bible. The 14-verse chapter opens the book by establishing the supremacy of the Son over the prophets and over the angels, the first move in an argument that will run through the entire letter.
The chapter opens without a greeting, which is unusual for a New Testament letter. The writing reads more like a polished sermon. The opening sentence is densely packed: in the past, God spoke to the ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken through his Son.
The Son is then described in a rapid series of statements. God has appointed him heir of all things, and through him he created the world. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
The argument then narrows to comparing the Son with angels. He became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. The chapter then quotes a series of Old Testament passages to support this claim. The Son is called God's Son in a way the angels never are; he receives worship; he is addressed as God in a quotation from a psalm; he is identified with the Lord who founded the earth in the beginning; he is invited to sit at God's right hand until his enemies become a footstool. The angels, in contrast, are described as ministering spirits, sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation.
The chapter closes with the Son seated at God's right hand and the angels in active service beneath him.
Verse 1. On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
Verse 2. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
Verse 3. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Verse 4. So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.
Verse 5. For 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”?
Verse 6. And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”
Verse 7. Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.”
Verse 8. But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
Verse 9. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”
Verse 10. And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Verse 11. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
Verse 12. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed; but You remain the same, and Your years will never end.”
Verse 13. Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?
Verse 14. Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
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