This verse, together with verse 17, marks a new step in the argument; verse 16 is a statement from which verse 17 draws a conclusion.

It is clear: compare Knox “After all,” introducing the statement of something which almost goes without saying; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omits this. It is clear that it is not the angels may be expressed as “it is obviously not the angels,” “it is indeed not the angels,” or “one can readily see that it is not the angels.”

A rather literal translation is given by King James Version, “he took not on him the nature of angels,” except that “the nature of” is not expressed in the Greek. The meaning of the word, twice repeated, which Good News Translation translated helps has been the subject of furious argument for centuries, and the problem is not yet entirely solved. The first sentence may be understood in two main ways.
(a) It has often been understood to refer to God “taking on” human nature when Christ became man. This interpretation is followed by King James Version and is suggested by New English Bible‘s “takes to himself”; compare Jerusalem Bible, Phillips, Luther 1984, and Zürcher Bibel. However, the translator must always beware of forcing biblical texts into the mold of later theological ideas.
(b) Most modern translations, though of various Christian traditions, essentially agree with Good News Translation‘s helps (other common language translations, New American Bible, Barclay, Translator’s New Testament; Moffatt has “succours”; Knox “make himself the angels’ champion”). “Be concerned with” (so Revised Standard Version) is also possible, though rather weak. Good News Bible and Revised Standard Version both give an unusual meaning for a word which is not very common, but literal meanings such as “grasp” are impossible. In Sirach 4.11 New English Bible translates “cares for.”

As the scripture says (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) is not in the text but is added to show that the following words are an allusion—in this case, to Isaiah 41.8-9. As elsewhere, the phrase as the scripture says must be rendered “as one may read in the holy writings” or “as in the words of the holy writings.”

Descendants of Abraham is literally “seed of Abraham,” that is, Israel. Descendants of Abraham may be expressed as “those in the lineage of Abraham” or “those who claim Abraham as a forefather.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .