Genesis 49:10

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ¹ 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ² 

the nations will obey him. ³ 

Psalms 45:6

45:6 Your throne, ⁴  O God, is permanent. ⁵ 

The scepter ⁶  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

Psalms 78:70-72

78:70 He chose David, his servant,

and took him from the sheepfolds.

78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, ⁷ 

and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,

and of Israel, his chosen nation. ⁸ 

78:72 David ⁹  cared for them with pure motives; ¹⁰ 

he led them with skill. ¹¹ 

Psalms 110:2

110:2 The Lord ¹²  extends ¹³  your dominion ¹⁴  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Isaiah 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ¹⁵ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ¹⁶ 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ¹⁷ 

establishing it ¹⁸  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ¹⁹ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ²⁰  will accomplish this.

Luke 1:32-33

1:32 He ²¹  will be great, ²²  and will be called the Son of the Most High, ²³  and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father ²⁴  David. 1:33 He ²⁵  will reign over the house of Jacob ²⁶  forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Hebrews 1:8

1:8 but of ²⁷  the Son he says, ²⁸ 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ²⁹ 

and a righteous scepter ³⁰  is the scepter of your kingdom.

[49:10]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ² tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ³ tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[45:6]  ⁴ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ⁵ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  ⁶ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[78:71]  ⁷ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

[78:71]  ⁸ tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

[78:72]  ⁹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[78:72]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

[78:72]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”

[110:2]  ¹² tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

[110:2]  ¹³ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

[110:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

[9:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

[9:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

[9:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.

[1:32]  ²¹ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:32]  ²² sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.

[1:32]  ²³ sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[1:32]  ²⁴ tn Or “ancestor.”

[1:33]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.

[1:33]  ²⁶ tn Or “over Israel.”

[1:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “to.”

[1:8]  ²⁸ tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

[1:8]  ²⁹ 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.

[1:8]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.