Hebrews 2:9-17

2:9 but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, ¹  now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, ²  so that by God’s grace he would experience ³  death on behalf of everyone. 2:10 For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, ⁴  in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer ⁵  of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 2:11 For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, ⁶  and so ⁷  he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ⁸  2:12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; ⁹  in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.” ¹⁰  2:13 Again he says, ¹¹  “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, ¹²  with ¹³  the children God has given me.” ¹⁴  2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ¹⁵  their humanity, ¹⁶  so that through death he could destroy ¹⁷  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 2:15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. 2:16 For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. 2:17 Therefore he had ¹⁸  to be made like his brothers and sisters ¹⁹  in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement ²⁰  for the sins of the people.

¹ tn Or “who was made a little lower than the angels.”

² tn Grk “because of the suffering of death.”

³ tn Grk “would taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

⁴ tn Grk “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.”

⁵ sn The Greek word translated pioneer is used of a “prince” or leader, the representative head of a family. It also carries nuances of “trailblazer,” one who breaks through to new ground for those who follow him. It is used some thirty-five times in the Greek OT and four times in the NT, always of Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2).

⁶ tn Grk “are all from one.”

⁷ tn Grk “for which reason.”

⁸ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The context here also indicates both men and women are in view; note especially the collective τὰ παιδία (ta paidia) in v. 14.

⁹ tn Here, because of its occurrence in an OT quotation, τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (tois adelfois) has been translated simply as “brothers” rather than “brothers and sisters” (see the note on the latter phrase in the previous verse).

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 22:22.

¹¹ tn Grk “and again,” as a continuation of the preceding.

¹² tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

¹³ tn Grk “and.”

¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 8:17-18.

¹⁵ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

¹⁶ tn Grk “the same.”

¹⁷ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”

¹⁸ tn Or “he was obligated.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

²⁰ tn Or “propitiation.”