Hebrews 1:4-6

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Hebrews 1:4 tn Grk “having become.” This is part of the same sentence that extends from v. 1 through v. 4 in the Greek text.
2. Hebrews 1:4 tn Most modern English translations attempt to make the comparison somewhat smoother by treating “name” as if it were the subject of the second element: “as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, CEV). However, the Son is the subject of both the first and second elements: “he became so far better”; “he has inherited a name.” The present translation maintains this parallelism even though it results in a somewhat more awkward rendering.sn This comparison is somewhat awkward to express in English, but it reflects an important element in the argument of Hebrews: the superiority of Jesus Christ.
3. Hebrews 1:5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4. Hebrews 1:5 tn Grk “I have begotten you.”sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.
5. Hebrews 1:5 tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.
6. Hebrews 1:5 tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.
7. Hebrews 1:5 tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”sn A quotation from 2 Sam 7:14 (cf. 1 Chr 17:13).
8. Hebrews 1:6 tn Or “And again when he brings.” The translation adopted in the text looks forward to Christ’s second coming to earth. Some take “again” to introduce the quotation (as in 1:5) and understand this as Christ’s first coming, but this view does not fit well with Heb 2:7. Others understand it as his exaltation/ascension to heaven, but this takes the phrase “into the world” in an unlikely way.
9. Hebrews 1:6 sn A quotation combining themes from Deut 32:43 and Ps 97:7.