God Has Spoken to Us
1 God, having spoken in former times in fragmentary and varied fashion to our forefathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe. 3 He is the reflection[a] of God’s glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty 4 and became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is better than theirs.
God’s Son is Superior to the Angels
5 For to which of the angels did God[b] ever say, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father”?[c] Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?[d] 6 And again, when he brings[e] his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”[f] 7 Now about the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”[g]
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a righteous scepter.
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you rather than your companions
with the oil of gladness.”[h]
10 And,
“In the beginning, Lord,[i]
you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will come to an end,
but you will remain forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 You will roll them up like a robe,
and they will be changed like clothes.
But you remain the same,
and your life[j] will never end.”[k]
13 But to which of the angels did he ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?[l]
14 All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren’t they?
Footnotes
- Hebrews 1:3 Or radiance
- Hebrews 1:5 Lit. he
- Hebrews 1:5 Cf. Ps 2:7
- Hebrews 1:5 Cf. 2 Sam 7:14
- Hebrews 1:6 Or And when he again brings
- Hebrews 1:6 Deut 32:43 (LXX); Ps 97:7
- Hebrews 1:7 Cf. Ps 104:4
- Hebrews 1:9 Cf. Ps 45:6-7
- Hebrews 1:10 MT source citation reads Lord
- Hebrews 1:12 Lit. years
- Hebrews 1:12 Cf. Ps 102:25-27
- Hebrews 1:13 Cf. Ps 110:1