The Nature of the Son

Long ago God spoke(A) to our ancestors by the prophets(B) at different times and in different ways.(C) In these last days,(D) he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things(E) and made the universe[a](F) through him. The Son is the radiance[b] of God’s glory and the exact expression[c] of his nature,(G) sustaining all things by his powerful word.(H) After making purification for sins,[d] he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[e](I) So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.(J)

The Son Superior to Angels

For to which of the angels did he ever say,

You are my Son;
today I have become your Father,[f][g]

or again,

I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son?[h](K)

Again, when he[i] brings his firstborn into the world,(L) he says,

And let all God’s angels worship him.[j](M)

And about the angels he says:

He makes his angels winds,[k]
and his servants[l] a fiery flame,[m](N)

but to[n] the Son:

Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.(O)
You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, your God,
has anointed you
with the oil of joy(P)
beyond your companions.[o][p]

10 And:

In the beginning, Lord,
you established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;(Q)
11 they will perish, but you remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;(R)
12 you will roll them up like a cloak,[q]
and they will be changed like clothing.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.[r](S)

13 Now to which of the angels has he ever said:

Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool?[s](T)

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?(U)

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Lit ages
  2. 1:3 Or reflection
  3. 1:3 Or representation, or copy, or reproduction
  4. 1:3 Other mss read for our sins by himself
  5. 1:3 Or he sat down on high at the right hand of the Majesty
  6. 1:5 Or have begotten you
  7. 1:5 Ps 2:7
  8. 1:5 2Sm 7:14; 1Ch 17:13
  9. 1:6 Or When he again
  10. 1:6 Dt 32:43 LXX; Ps 97:7
  11. 1:7 Or spirits
  12. 1:7 Or ministers
  13. 1:7 Ps 104:4
  14. 1:8 Or about
  15. 1:9 Or associates
  16. 1:8–9 Ps 45:6–7
  17. 1:12 Other mss omit like a cloak
  18. 1:10–12 Ps 102:25–27
  19. 1:13 Ps 110:1

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?