Though at first sight this verse seems to stand on its own, in fact, connections are implied and some translations express them. Jesus Christ is the content of God’s message in verse 7, and yesterday (with the extended meaning “in the past”), like today (compare 3.15), points back to your former leaders, perhaps even to the “heroes of faith” in chapter 11. The same (compare 1.12) contrasts with all kinds of strange teachings in verse 9, as New English Bible suggests by beginning verse 9 “So do not be swept off your course.”

The same is emphasized in the Greek by being in an unusual position. A possible alternative translation would be “Jesus Christ is yesterday and today the same, and (also the same) forever.” The simpler translation of Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version, in which the three main parts of the sentence are given equal weight, is probably better.

There are a number of problems involved in translating Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In the first place the statement that Jesus Christ is the same may be regarded as simply a truism. Therefore it may be necessary to translate “Jesus Christ never changes.” In the second place yesterday may not be a figurative symbol for past events or past time, and a literal rendering of today may suggest only a particular day rather than present time. Therefore yesterday, today, and forever may need to be rendered as “in the past, now, and in the future.” To communicate this information clearly may require considerable expansion; for example, “Jesus Christ never changes. He has not changed in the past, he does not change now, and he will never change in the future.”

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 .