Hebrews 1:8

1:8 but of ¹  the Son he says, ² 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ³ 

and a righteous scepter ⁴  is the scepter of your kingdom.

Hebrews 1:12

1:12 and like a robe you will fold them up

and like a garment ⁵  they will be changed,

but you are the same and your years will never run out.” ⁶ 

Hebrews 7:16

7:16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent ⁷  but by the power of an indestructible life.

Hebrews 9:12

9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured ⁸  eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:23

9:23 So it was necessary for the sketches ⁹  of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, ¹⁰  but the heavenly things themselves required ¹¹  better sacrifices than these.

Hebrews 10:5

10:5 So when he came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

Hebrews 10:25

10:25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day ¹²  drawing near. ¹³ 

Hebrews 12:13

12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, ¹⁴  so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

¹ tn Or “to.”

² tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

³ tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

⁴ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.

⁵ tc The words “like a garment” (ὡς ἱμάτιον, Jw" Jimation) are found in excellent and early mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A B D* 1739) though absent in a majority of witnesses (D¹ Ψ 0243 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy bo). Although it is possible that longer reading was produced by overzealous scribes who wanted to underscore the frailty of creation, it is much more likely that the shorter reading was produced by scribes who wanted to conform the wording to that of Ps 102:26 (101:27 LXX), which here lacks the second “like a garment.” Both external and internal considerations decidedly favor the longer reading, and point to the author of Hebrews as the one underscoring the difference between the Son and creation.

⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 102:25-27.

⁹ tn Grk “a law of a fleshly command.”

¹³ 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.”

¹⁷ tn Or “prototypes,” “outlines,” referring to the earthly sanctuary. See Heb 8:5 above for the prior use of this term.

¹⁸ tn Grk “with these”; in the translation the referent (sacrifices) has been specified for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Grk “the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

²¹ sn The day refers to that well-known time of Christ’s coming and judgment in the future; see a similar use of “day” in 1 Cor 3:13.

²² tn This paragraph (vv. 19-25) is actually a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments for English idiom. It begins with several subordinate phrases (since we have confidence and a great priest), has three parallel exhortations as its main verbs (let us draw near, hold, and take thought), and concludes with several subordinate phrases related to the final exhortation (not abandoning but encouraging).

²⁵ sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”