26:12 Do you see 7 a man wise in his own eyes? 8
There is more hope for a fool 9 than for him.
5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, 10
those who think they possess understanding. 11
2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,
so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’
But, watch out! 12 I will bring down judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’
10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, 18
10:1 For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. 19
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, 22
and a righteous scepter 23 is the scepter of your kingdom.
1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.
So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions 24 with the oil of rejoicing.” 25
1:10 And,
“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, 26
and the heavens are the works of your hands.
1 tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).
2 tn Or “If I had not done.”
3 tn Grk “the works.”
4 tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).
5 tn The words “the deeds” are supplied to clarify from context what was seen. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
6 tn Or “But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.” It is possible to understand both the “seeing” and the “hating” to refer to both Jesus and the Father, but this has the world “seeing” the Father, which seems alien to the Johannine Jesus. (Some point out John 14:9 as an example, but this is addressed to the disciples, not to the world.) It is more likely that the “seeing” refers to the miraculous deeds mentioned in the first half of the verse. Such an understanding of the first “both – and” construction is apparently supported by BDF §444.3.
7 tn The verse simply uses a perfect tense. The meaning of the verse would be the same if this were interpreted as an affirmation rather than as an interrogative. The first line calls such a person to one’s attention.
8 tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
9 sn Previous passages in the book of Proverbs all but deny the possibility of hope for the fool. So this proverb is saying there is absolutely no hope for the self-conceited person, and there might be a slight hope for the fool – he may yet figure out that he really is a fool.
10 tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.
11 tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”
12 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle often translated “behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) in a meaningful way in this context. See further the translator’s note on the word “really” in 1:6.
13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
14 tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.
15 sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.
16 tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
18 tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.
19 tn Grk “those who approach.”
20 tn Or “to.”
21 tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.
22 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.
23 tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.
24 sn God…has anointed you over your companions. God’s anointing gives the son a superior position and authority over his fellows.
25 sn A quotation from Ps 45:6-7.
26 sn You founded the earth…your years will never run out. In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.