SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 1:6

1:6

In this verse the author quoted another verse from the OT to show that the Son is greater than the angels. God did not treat angels like sons or say that he was their father (1:5). Instead, he told them that they must worship the Son as God (1:6).

1:6a

And: The word And connects this verse closely to the preceding verses. Translate the connection in a natural way in your language. In some languages a conjunction may not be needed.

again: There are two ways to interpret the word again in this context:

(1) It introduces another OT quote to prove that Christ is greater than the angels. For example:

And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says: (English Standard Version)

(2) It refers to the second coming of Christ into the world. For example:

But when he again brings his firstborn into the world, he says: (NET Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Most commentaries and versions favor this interpretation. Some versions do not translate the word again, but still imply that the OT quote refers to the Son’s first coming into the world.

when God brings His firstborn into the world: This statement refers to the time when God brought his Son to the earth. Some other ways to translate the statement are:

when God sent his firstborn Son to this earth
-or-
when God caused his firstborn to come to the world

firstborn: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as firstborn is used figuratively. In Jewish culture the firstborn son in a family was an important person. He was the heir of his father, and his father often gave him authority to represent him in important matters. See the discussion on “heir of all things” in 1:2b.

The word firstborn is a title that emphasizes Christ’s status and importance. In some cultures the term firstborn does not express that meaning. If that is true in your culture, you may need to express the meaning in a different way. For example:

honored Son
-or-
his Son who has no equal

In some languages it may be helpful to make the term for firstborn into a different statement. For example:

This Son of God is greater than all. Therefore when God sent….

Christ is also called the firstborn in Colossians 1:15, 1:18; Romans 8:29; Revelation 1:5.

into the world: The word world refers to the whole inhabited earth. Some ways to translate into the world are:

to ⌊the people⌋ on earth
-or-

here⌋to this world

1:6b

He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”: The words Let all God’s angels worship Him are quoted from the Greek translation of Deuteronomy 32:43. In this context it is a command. God commands that his angels must worship his Son.

In some languages it may not be natural to use the word God’s when God himself is speaking. You may need to use another way to refer to him. For example:

All of my angels must worship that Child of mine.
-or-
he commands all of his angels to worship him (Contemporary English Version)

He says: The phrase He says introduces what God said when he brought his Son into the world. At the time that the author of Hebrews wrote this, God had already said it. Use a natural verb form in your language to introduce what God said here.

angels: The word angels refers to spirit beings that serve God. It first occurs in this book in 1:4. Check to see how you have translated it there.

worship: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as worship means to express devotion, honor, and reverence for God or for other gods. Some ways to express this worship are by praying, bowing down, or kneeling to show submission, serving God obediently, and praising him.

In this context the word worship indicates that the angels must agree that the Son is God, and they must give him honor. It probably also indicates that they must bow down or prostrate themselves before the Son to show their reverence.

Other ways to translate worship in this context are:

adore
-or-
bow down to
-or-
serve/revere

© 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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