SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 2020 – Page 3

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 4:13

4:13

In 4:12 the author said that God’s word is like a sword which cuts people open and shows what they are like inside. In 4:13 the author indicates that God sees every person and everything that he created, and he knows all about them. No one can hide anything from him, and everyone must give an account to him for what they do.

The statements in 4:13a and 4:13b are parallel, and 4:13b repeats the idea of 4:13a. The parallel parts are indicated here by underlining or bolding:

13a And before him no creature is hidden

13b but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one

13c
to whom we must render an account.

In some languages it is more natural to combine these statements. For example:

13a–b No one can hide anything from God, and he is the one 13c to whom we must give an account.

4:13a

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight: The word hidden refers here to something that is not able to be seen or known. The clause indicates that God can see everything and everyone that he created. Nothing can be hidden from God so that he does not see it.

Some other ways to translate the statement are:

No creature can hide from God (God’s Word)
-or-
There is really nothing that can be hidden from God.
-or-
God can see every one of his creatures, and none of them is hidden from him.

creation: The word creation refers to anything that God created. God created everything.

4:13b

everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes: The words uncovered and exposed mean “uncovered, bare,” and they are used in a figurative way here. It indicates that God knows everything about every creature, just as people can see the whole body of a naked person. Even if a person tries to hide something about himself from God, God will still see it clearly. He will know all about it.

Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

everything is uncovered…for him to see (God’s Word)
-or-
whatever creature, it is as if they are all naked in his sight

exposed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as exposed occurs only here in the Bible. It probably refers to the custom of exposing the neck of a person or animal in order to cut his throat and kill him. Here the word is used as a figure of speech. It indicates that everything (and every person) is completely known to God, and God has power over each one.

Some other ways to translate this figure of speech are:

exposed/clear
-or-
there is nothing of our thoughts closed to him
-or-
He can always see anything that we are doing/thinking

4:13c

of Him to whom we must give account: The phrase of Him to whom we must give account refers to God. It indicates that God is the judge of what people do and think throughout their lives. He is the one to whom we will explain the way we have lived.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

And he is the one to whom we will answer for all that we have done and thought.
-or-
It is to him that we must admit/confess our behavior.
-or-
This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done. (New Living Translation (2004))

give account: The phrase give account means “give an answer for our actions” or “say why we have done what we have done.” See the preceding note for translation examples.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 6:15

6:15a

And so: The phrase And so means “So,” or “Because of that.”

Abraham, after waiting patiently: In this context the phrase after waiting patiently indicates when Abraham received what God promised him. He received it after he waited patiently. Abraham had to wait many years for God’s promises to be fulfilled. He was seventy-five years old when God first spoke to him (Genesis 12:3–4), and he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5).

Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

Abraham was patient, and so (Good News Translation)
-or-
And so by persevering, Abraham (NET Bible)

6:15b

obtained the promise: The phrase obtained the promise indicates that Abraham received what God promised to give him. The birth of Isaac was a fulfillment of God’s promise. Here is another way to translate this:

And so by persevering, Abraham was given the promise. (NET Bible)

The phrase obtained the promise implies that Abraham received the promise from God, as 6:13 says. In some languages it is more natural to repeat “God” here. For example:

obtained what God promised him
-or-
received the ⌊child whom⌋ God promised to give him

General Comment on 6:15a–b

In some languages it may be natural to translate this verse as a reason and result. For example:

Abraham was patient, and so he received what God had promised. (Good News Translation)
-or-
Abraham waited patiently for this to happen, and he received what God promised. (New Century Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 1:10

Paragraph 1:10–12

Hebrews 1:10–12 contains the sixth quotation from the Old Testament. It is from Psalm 102:25–27. In that Psalm, the psalmist said these words to God. But when the author of Hebrews quoted them in these verses, God spoke them to his Son. He called him “Lord.” God’s Son is the Lord who created heaven and earth. Heaven and earth will come to an end, but he is eternal and unchanging.

1:10a

And: The author used the word And here to introduce another statement that God said to his Son. It is also a quotation from the Old Testament. Some other ways to introduce it are:

God also said (God’s Word)
-or-
He also says to the Son (New Living Translation (2004))

Introduce the quotation in a natural way in your language.

1:10b–c

In the Greek text, 1:10b–c are in a different order, more literally:

And you from ⌊the⌋ beginning, Lord, founded the earth, and the heavens are works of your hands.

The word “you” is emphasized. God emphasized that his Son is God, the one who created the earth and the heavens. Use a natural word order in your language. Here is another way to translate this:

Lord, in the beginning you made the earth, and your hands made the skies. (New Century Version)

In some languages there may be a different way to emphasize the word “you.” For example:

It was you, Lord, who in the beginning…

O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands: In 1:10b–c there are two parallel statements:

10b Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth,

10c and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

The heavens refer to the sky and all that is in the sky. Together the phrases the earth and the heavens represent everything that God created. In some languages it may be more natural to combine these statements in one clause. For example:

you Lord are the one who created the earth and everything that is in the sky

1:10b

In the beginning: The phrase In the beginning refers to the time when God began to create everything that exists. At that time nothing existed. This phrase is similar to the first words of Genesis 1:1 and the first words of John 1:1. If you have translated those books, you may be able to use the same expression here. Some other ways to translate it are:

Before anything was created
-or-
At the beginning of time
-or-
Long ago

If you use a phrase like “Before anything existed,” be sure that it does not imply that God himself did not exist.

laid the foundations of the earth: Here the author used figurative language to indicate that the Lord caused the earth to exist. The phrase does not mean that the earth has a literal foundation, as a building does.

In some languages it is more natural to translate the meaning without using this figurative language. For example:

created the earth
-or-
caused the earth to exist
-or-
made the earth

If you have a figurative way in your language to describe God creating the earth, you may be able to use it here.

1:10c

the heavens are the work of Your hands: The phrase the work of Your hands is a figure of speech. It emphasizes the fact that the Son himself created the heavens. Many languages may be able to translate this figure of speech directly. For example:

With your own hands you made the heavens (God’s Word)
-or-
It was your hands that made the sky.

In some languages it may be more natural to translate the meaning of the figure of speech more directly. For example:

and you are the one who made the heavens

the heavens: The phrase the heavens refers to the sky and everything in it, such as the sun, moon, and stars. The Berean Standard Bible probably uses the plural form of the English word heavens here because the Hebrew word is always plural. Use a natural way in your language to speak of the sky and what is in it. For example:

the sky
-or-
the skies and everything in them

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 3:11

3:11

There are two ways to interpret the way 3:11 connects to 3:10. The connection depends on the interpretation of the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “So”:

(1) The word “So” indicates that God’s oath was a result of the people’s disobedience (3:8–10). For example:

So I vowed in my anger (Revised English Bible)

(2) The word “So” implies that the people who disobeyed will not enter God’s rest, just as God said they will not enter it. For example:

As I swore in my wrath (English Standard Version)

Several English versions (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New Century Version) do not translate the word “So.” It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with the majority of English versions and commentaries.

3:11a–b

So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest’: The clause So I swore on oath in My anger indicates that God was angry when the people disobeyed him, so he vowed that they would never enter his rest. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

I was angry and made a promise, “They will never enter my rest.” (New Century Version)
-or-
So in my anger I made a vow: “They will never enter my place of rest.” (New Living Translation (2004))

They shall never enter My rest: Here God vowed that those who did not trust and obey him would never receive the type of rest that he wanted to give them. Some ways to translate the meaning in this context are:

They will never receive the rest that I ⌊planned to give them⌋.
-or-
they certainly will not be able to rest under my care

For information on how to translate rest in this context, refer again to the introduction to Section 3:7–19.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 5:8

5:8a–b

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered: This statement expresses surprise that even Christ, the Son of God, needed to suffer in order to fully obey God. The phrase learned obedience does not imply that the Son was disobedient or that he did not know how to obey. It indicates that when the Son was a man on earth, he had to suffer in order to obey the Father. Then he learned the type of obedience that involves suffering or causes suffering.

In some languages it may be helpful to mention “suffering” before learned obedience. For example:

He, being Son ⌊of God⌋, still suffered. Through his suffering, he learned/experienced obedience.

Some other ways to translate the meaning are:

but Son though he was, he had to prove the meaning of obedience through all that he suffered (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
Even though Christ was the Son of God, yet in order that he might obey God, he let himself go through suffering.

5:8a

Although He was a Son: In Greek this phrase is more literally, “Though being Son.” It emphasizes Christ’s identity as the Son of God. It does not imply that there was more than one son. In some languages it is necessary to supply the word for “God.” For example:

But even though he was God’s Son (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus is God’s own Son, but still… (Contemporary English Version)

5:8b

He learned obedience from what He suffered: The phrase He learned obedience indicates that Christ learned (experienced) submitting to God even when the submission caused him to suffer. In some languages a phrase like learned obedience wrongly implies that Christ was only pretending to obey. In other languages it wrongly implies that Christ was disobedient until he learned from suffering that he ought to obey.

If this phrase implies such a wrong meaning in your language, use a different way to describe Jesus’ experience of obeying God as he suffered. For example:

he experienced the meaning of obeying God through/by what he suffered
-or-
through all that he endured, he realized the meaning of following/obeying God
-or-
he too underwent suffering, and he submitted to God like mankind

obedience: The word obedience refers to listening to someone (here, listening to God) and doing what he says to do. In some languages it is more natural to translate obedience as a phrase or clause. For example:

to obey ⌊God⌋
-or-
to listen ⌊to God⌋ ⌊and do as he says/commands⌋

from what He suffered: The phrase from what He suffered indicates the means by which Christ “learned obedience.” He learned it by suffering and in the process of suffering. The phrase what He suffered is a general way to refer to all the pain, sorrow, tortures, and agony that Christ endured when he died to atone for our sins.

For translation examples, see the first note on 5:8b.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 2:8

2:8a

and placed everything under his feet: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as placed everything under his feet means “put under his authority,” “made him ruler over.” It indicates that God gave the Messiah and/or mankind authority to rule over everything that God created. It does not indicate that the things were literally located under his or their feet.

In some languages it is more natural to translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

and made him ruler over all things (Good News Translation)
-or-
The Lord God gives mankind authority to rule everything.

everything: The word everything refers to all that God created. Another way to translate everything is:

all the things you have made

If you have a figure of speech in your language that has this meaning, you may be able to use it here.

his: See the note on 2:6b. Make sure that you translate the whole quotation in 2:6–8 so that the parts agree with each other. For example, if you used a pronoun like his in the previous parts of this quotation, you should also use his here. If you used “us(incl.) ” there, you should use “our(incl.) ” here.

General Comment on 2:7a–8a

In some languages it is more natural to translate 2:7a, 2:7b, and 2:8a as separate sentences. Some ways to do this are:

You made him for a little while lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor. You put everything under his control.
-or-
You made him lower than the angels for a while. Yet you crowned him with glory and honor. And you gave him authority over everything.

2:8b

In some languages it will be more natural to combine 2:8b and 2:8c. See the General Comment on 2:8b–c at the end of 2:8c.

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “for.” As in 2:2a, it introduces a statement that explains something about what the author has just said. Introduce the statement in a natural way in your language. In some languages a connecting word is not necessary.

When God subjected all things to him: The phrase subjected all things is repeated from 2:8a, where the Berean Standard Bible uses “placed.” The word When indicates that the author will explain what the phrase implies. Other ways to translate When God subjected all things to him are:

when he said that he subjected everything under their feet, he meant/implied that…
-or-
when it says “all things,” it means that… (New Living Translation (2004))

2:8c

He left nothing outside of his control: This clause is a way of repeating what the author said in 2:8a. God put everything under the authority of mankind. When he gave mankind this authority, he did not mention anything that he would not allow them to control. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

He gave them control over every single thing.
-or-
He did not say that there was something that they could not control.

General Comment on 2:8b–c

In 2:8b the author repeated part of the quotation from Psalm 8. In 2:8c he explained the meaning of that part of the quotation. Connect the statements in a natural way in your language.

2:8d

Yet at present: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Yet at present is more literally “but now.” It indicates a contrast between the quotation in 2:8a and what humans experience now. Some other ways to express this contrast are:

however…now (Good News Translation)
-or-
But (New Living Translation (2004))

we do not see everything subject to him: The clause we do not see everything subject to him indicates that people do not yet rule or control everything else that God created. The clause contrasts with 2:8a–c, and it repeats some of the words in those clauses. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
But until the present time we do not see that all the things are ruled by the people.

In this statement the word we refers to people in general. Some other ways to translate the statement are:

But today/now, this has not yet happened.
-or-
But people have not yet seen all this happen.

see: In this context the verb see refers to being aware that something has happened or to experiencing it. It does not refer here to seeing with the eyes.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 4:3

4:3a

Now we who have believed enter that rest: The word Now introduces an explanation of what the author said in 4:2. It also introduces a contrast. We who have believed contrasts with the people who did not believe what God promised. They could not enter God’s rest. Instead, we who have believed are the ones who enter the rest that he promised.

Some ways to translate this explanation and contrast are:

For only we who believe can enter his rest. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
It is only we who believe who will enter that resting-place
-or-
But as for us, because we believed ⌊the word that God spoke⌋, now we are able to enter the rest.

we who have believed: The pronoun we includes the author and everyone who believes the good news (4:2a), which is the message (4:2b) about the promise of entering his rest (4:1a). The word believed is used in the same sense as “faith” in 4:2, and the Greek words are closely related.

In some languages it is necessary to indicate what is believed. In this context they believed the good news that they heard in 4:2. Some ways to refer back to it are:

we who believed it
-or-
we who believe ⌊the message⌋
-or-
we who have trusted/accepted ⌊the good news⌋

Remember that the “message” and the “good news” in 4:2 referred to what Joshua, Caleb, and Moses told the people. They told the people that God was able to give them rest, just as he promised them. In 4:3 we also believe the good news that God still offers rest to us, and he is able to give us that rest.

enter that rest:
The phrase enter that rest has the same meaning as “entering his rest” in 4:1. Translate it in a similar way here.

4:3b

just as God has said: In this part of the verse, the author spoke again about the people who did not believe God. The phrase just as God has said introduces what God said about them. In many languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

As for those who didn’t believe, God said (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
This agrees with what God said in the Scripture about those who did not believe him:

Translate the connection in a natural way in your language.

4:3c–d

So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest’: These words from Psalm 95:11 were quoted in 3:11. You should translate them exactly as you did there.

4:3e–f

And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world: The word yet implies that the clause in 4:3e–f tells an unexpected fact. The clause indicates that when God finished creating the world, his work was done (and he rested). It implies that at that time, he also provided rest for his people. However, the people whom he led out of Egypt will never enjoy that rest (4:3a–d).

Some other ways to translate this unexpected fact are:

Yet from when God created the world, he has been resting.
-or-
But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world.
-or-
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world (New Living Translation (2004))

since the foundation of the world: The phrase since the foundation of the world refers to the time when God created the world (and everything in it). Then he rested. God’s “work” came before his “rest.” He finished his work of creating the world a long time before the people of Israel made their journey to Egypt.

In some languages it is more natural to translate foundation (“creation”) as a verb. For example:

the time he created the world (Good News Translation)
-or-
when he created everything

SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 6:5

6:5a–b

Most scholars indicate that 6:5a–b adds two experiences to the list in 6:4:

(a) The people experienced for themselves the goodness of God’s word (5a).

(b) They also experienced the powers of the coming age (5b).

In 6:5b the author did not imply that people were able to visit the future. He indicated that some people were already able to experience miracles that will be common in the age to come.

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age: The verb tasted is the same verb that was used in the phrase “tasted the heavenly gift” 6:4b. As in 6:4b, the word tasted means “to actually experience” something. It does not imply that the experience is limited like a little taste of food.

Languages have different ways to speak of experiencing something. They may use verbs that mean “see” or “feel.” There may also be different ways to speak of different types of experiences. In some languages it is necessary to translate tasted in two different ways in 6:5a and 6:5b. For example:

They found out how good God’s word is, and they received the powers of his new world. (New Century Version)
-or-
they knew from experience that God’s word is good, and they had felt the powers of the coming age (Good News Translation)

Translate the verb in a natural way in your language for this context.

6:5a

the goodness of the word of God: The phrase the goodness of the word of God indicates that God’s message is good. The word of God probably refers specifically here to the good message that God saves us through Christ. Some other ways to translate it are:

the good message of God (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
that God’s word is good

6:5b

the powers of the coming age: This phrase implies that in the future God will show his power in special ways. Miracles will be common. God will give his people special power to do great things. The word powers does not imply that the power will come from any spirit or “god” except the Creator.

Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

the power ⌊of God⌋ that he will make clear in the future
-or-
the powerful ⌊miracles⌋ that ⌊will be common⌋ in the coming age
-or-
what can be done through the power which God will reveal in the future at the last days

powers: In this context the word powers refers to actions that require God’s power to accomplish. These actions will be miraculous and extraordinary. The word is plural because the author referred to more than one event or miracle. It also occurs with the words “wonders” and “signs” in Acts 2:12 and 2 Corinthians 12:12. See the preceding note for translation examples.

the coming age: The coming age refers to a new period of time that will begin in the future. The text does not specify exactly which future time that will be.

Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

the future world (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
in the coming time

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Hebrews 2020