Hebrews 2:5

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

2:5 For he did not put the world to come, ¹  about which we are speaking, ²  under the control of angels.

Hebrews 2:16

2:16 For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants.

Hebrews 3:19

3:19 So ³  we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.

Hebrews 4:8

4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God ⁴  would not have spoken afterward about another day.

Hebrews 7:16

7:16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent ⁵  but by the power of an indestructible life.

Hebrews 7:20

7:20 And since ⁶  this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation,

Hebrews 8:7

8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. ⁷ 

Hebrews 10:17

10:17 then he says, ⁸  “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.” ⁹ 

Hebrews 10:37

10:37 For just a little longer ¹⁰  and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. ¹¹ 

Hebrews 10:39--11:1

10:39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls. ¹² 

People Commended for Their Faith

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:39

11:39 And these all were commended ¹³  for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ¹⁴ 

Hebrews 12:18

12:18 For you have not come to something that can be touched, ¹⁵  to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind

Hebrews 12:20

12:20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” ¹⁶ 

Hebrews 13:14

13:14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

¹ sn The phrase the world to come means “the coming inhabited earth,” using the Greek term which describes the world of people and their civilizations.

² sn See the previous reference to the world in Heb 1:6.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate a summary or conclusion to the argument of the preceding paragraph.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Grk “a law of a fleshly command.”

⁹ sn The Greek text contains an elaborate comparison between v. 20a and v. 22, with a parenthesis (vv. 20b-21) in between; the comparison is literally, “by as much as…by so much” or “to the degree that…to that same degree.”

¹¹ tn Grk “no occasion for a second one would have been sought.”

¹³ tn Grk “and.”

¹⁴ sn A quotation from Jer 31:34.

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 26:20.

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Hab 2:3.

¹⁷ tn Grk “not…of shrinking back to perdition but of faith to the preservation of the soul.”

¹⁹ sn The expression these all were commended forms an inclusio with Heb 11:2: The chapter begins and ends with references to commendation for faith.

²⁰ tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.

²¹ tn This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate.

²³ sn A quotation from Exod 19:12-13.