8:1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: 5 We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 6
1 tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.
2 tn Grk “by the word of his power.”
3 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.
4 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.
5 tn Grk “the main point of the things being said.”
6 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1; see Heb 1:3, 13.
7 tn This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secured”; “he and no other secured.”
8 tn Or “prefiguration.”
9 tn The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.
10 tn Grk “this one.” This pronoun refers to Jesus, but “this priest” was used in the translation to make the contrast between the Jewish priests in v. 11 and Jesus as a priest clearer in English.
11 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.
12 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.
13 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
14 tn Grk “while he blessed them.”
15 tn Grk “he departed from them.”
16 tc The reference to the ascension (“and was taken up into heaven”) is lacking in א* D it sys, but it is found in Ì75 and the rest of the ms tradition. The authenticity of the statement here seems to be presupposed in Acts 1:2, for otherwise it is difficult to account for Luke’s reference to the ascension there. For a helpful discussion, see TCGNT 162-63.
17 tn The word “here” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
18 tc Codex Bezae (D) and several other witnesses lack the words εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν (ei" ton ouranon, “into heaven”) here, most likely by way of accidental deletion. In any event, it is hardly correct to suppose that the Western text has intentionally suppressed references to the ascension of Christ here, for the phrase is solidly attested in the final clause of the verse.
19 tn Grk “whom,” continuing the sentence from v. 20.
20 sn The term must used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) is a key Lukan term to point to the plan of God and what must occur.
21 tn Grk “until the times of the restoration of all things.” Because of the awkward English style of the extended genitive construction, and because the following relative clause has as its referent the “time of restoration” rather than “all things,” the phrase was translated “until the time all things are restored.”
22 tn Or “spoke.”
23 tn Or “from all ages past.”
24 tc ‡ A number of significant and early witnesses, along with several others (Ì46vid א A C F G L Ψ 6 33 81 104 365 1505 al lat bo), read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after Χριστός (Cristos, “Christ”) in v. 34. But the shorter reading is not unrepresented (B D 0289 1739 1881 Ï sa). Once ᾿Ιησοῦς got into the text, what scribe would omit it? Although the external evidence is on the side of the longer reading, internally such an expansion seems suspect. The shorter reading is thus preferred. NA27 has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.