Psalms 102:25-27

102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;

the skies are your handiwork.

102:26 They will perish,

but you will endure. ¹ 

They will wear out like a garment;

like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. ² 

102:27 But you remain; ³ 

your years do not come to an end.

Isaiah 51:6

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ⁴  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ⁵  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ⁶  will not disappear. ⁷ 

Matthew 5:18

5:18 I ⁸  tell you the truth, ⁹  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ¹⁰  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

Matthew 24:35

24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ¹¹ 

Hebrews 1:10-12

1:10 And,

“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, ¹² 

and the heavens are the works of your hands.

1:11 They will perish, but you continue.

And they will all grow old like a garment,

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

and like a garment ¹³  they will be changed,

but you are the same and your years will never run out.” ¹⁴ 

Hebrews 1:2

1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ¹⁵  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ¹⁶ 

Hebrews 3:10-12

3:10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering ¹⁷  and they have not known my ways.’

3:11 “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’” ¹⁸ 

3:12 See to it, ¹⁹  brothers and sisters, ²⁰  that none of you has ²¹  an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes ²²  the living God. ²³ 

Revelation 20:11

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ²⁴  I saw a large ²⁵  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ²⁶  fled ²⁷  from his presence, and no place was found for them.

¹ tn Heb “stand.”

² tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.

³ tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.

⁴ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

⁵ tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”

⁶ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

⁷ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”

⁸ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

¹¹ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.

¹² 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.

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 102:25-27.

¹⁵ tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

¹⁶ tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

¹⁷ tn Grk “they are wandering in the heart.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “if they shall enter my rest,” a Hebrew idiom expressing an oath that something will certainly not happen.

¹⁹ tn Or “take care.”

²⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

²¹ tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”

²² tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”

²³ tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”

²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

²⁵ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

²⁶ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

²⁷ tn Or “vanished.”