Good News Translation finds “tasted God’s good word” a less natural metaphor than “tasting God’s gift” in verse 4 and replaces it, as do some other translations, by the nonfigurative knew from experience that God’s word is good. “Taste” in English can have the weak meaning “eat only a small amount of,” but this is not the meaning of the Greek, either here or in 2.9, where the same verb is used (see Revised Standard Version). The meaning is rather that of Psalm 34.8, Find out for yourself.
Word is not the same Greek term as either of those used in 5.12 and 5.13. The term used here usually means a spoken word, but may have been chosen simply for variety. The context shows that it means, not the Old Testament, but Christian teaching, which at this time would be handed on largely, though not entirely, by word of mouth. God’s word is here “the message from God” rather than “the message about God.” However, God’s word is closely linked with the powers of the coming age. “Word,” especially God’s word, is commonly thought of in the Bible as active and powerful (compare 4.12). The writer may be remembering what Jesus said about the kingdom or kingly rule of God, as in Mark 1.15, or the power of the Holy Spirit just mentioned, or both.
It is rare that one can preserve the biblical figurative language of “tasting God’s good word,” and therefore some other expression is usually required. They knew from experience that God’s word is good is one possibility, or more idiomatically “they felt in their hearts that God’s word is good.” Similarly, God’s word is good may be rendered as “what God has said is good.”
The translator should avoid any expression for the coming age which would suggest a time wholly in the future, for this would contradict the meaning of the past tense in “tasted” or knew from experience. King James Version‘s “world to come” is misleading because the “kingdom” is a period of time, not a place.
A literal translation of they had felt the powers of the coming age is in danger of being radically misinterpreted or utterly obscure. Without any further qualification, powers of the coming age could very well be interpreted as “demonic powers” or “powers associated with evil spirits,” especially if this is related directly to a verb of sensory feeling.
There is an additional difficulty involved in rendering the coming age, since in most languages a period of time does not “come”; it simply “happens.” A literal rendering of the coming age or even “the age that is happening” could still be exceedingly obscure, since it would have no relationship to the rule of God. It may therefore be wise to translate they had felt the powers of the coming age as “they had experienced the power of the time when God is beginning to rule” or “… the power associated with the time when God rules.”
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 .