Hebrews 1:4-2:2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.(A)
II. The Son Higher Than the Angels
Messianic Enthronement.[a] 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say:
“You are my son; this day I have begotten you”?(B)
Or again:
“I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me”?
6 And again, when he leads[b] the first-born into the world, he says:
“Let all the angels of God worship him.”(C)
7 Of the angels he says:
“He makes his angels winds
and his ministers a fiery flame”;(D)
8 but of the Son:
“Your throne, O God,[c] stands forever and ever;
and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.(E)
9 You loved justice and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your companions”;
10 and:
“At the beginning, O Lord, you established the earth,(F)
and the heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain;
and they will all grow old like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a cloak,
and like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
13 But to which of the angels has he ever said:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool”?(G)
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?(H)
Chapter 2
Exhortation to Faithfulness.[d] 1 Therefore, we must attend all the more to what we have heard, so that we may not be carried away. 2 For if the word announced through angels proved firm, and every transgression and disobedience received its just recompense,(I)
Footnotes
- 1:5–14 Jesus’ superiority to the angels is now demonstrated by a series of seven Old Testament texts. Some scholars see in the stages of Jesus’ exaltation an order corresponding to that of enthronement ceremonies in the ancient Near East, especially in Egypt, namely, elevation to divine status (Hb 1:5–6); presentation to the angels and proclamation of everlasting lordship (Hb 1:7–12); enthronement and conferral of royal power (Hb 1:13). The citations from the Psalms in Hb 1:5, 13 were traditionally used of Jesus’ messianic sonship (cf. Acts 13:33) through his resurrection and exaltation (cf. Acts 2:33–35); those in Hb 1:8, 10–12 are concerned with his divine kingship and his creative function. The central quotation in Hb 1:7 serves to contrast the angels with the Son. The author quotes it according to the Septuagint translation, which is quite different in meaning from that of the Hebrew (“You make the winds your messengers, and flaming fire your ministers”). The angels are only sent to serve…those who are to inherit salvation (Hb 1:14).
- 1:6 And again, when he leads: the Greek could also be translated “And when he again leads” in reference to the parousia.
- 1:8–12 O God: the application of the name “God” to the Son derives from the preexistence mentioned in Hb 1:2–3; the psalmist had already used it of the Hebrew king in the court style of the original. See note on Ps 45:7. It is also important for the author’s christology that in Hb 1:10–12 an Old Testament passage addressed to God is redirected to Jesus.
- 2:1–4 The author now makes a transition into exhortation, using an a fortiori argument (as at Hb 7:21–22; 9:13–14; 10:28–29; 12:25). The word announced through angels (Hb 2:2), the Mosaic law, is contrasted with the more powerful word that Christians have received (Hb 2:3–4). Christ’s supremacy strengthens Christians against being carried away from their faith.
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