Passage

Hebrews 1.10

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

8. but of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

10. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands:

They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12. And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail. (Hebrews 1:8-12, ASV)

WEB

8. But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. 9. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”

10. And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.

They will perish, but you continue. They all will grow old like a garment does. 12. You will roll them up like a mantle, and they will be changed; but you are the same. Your years will not fail.” (Hebrews 1:8-12, WEB)

KJV

8. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ^{righteousness: Gr. rightness, or, straightness} 9. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

10. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (Hebrews 1:8-12, KJV)

YLT

8. and unto the Son: 'Thy throne, O God, [is] to the age of the age; a sceptre of righteousness [is] the sceptre of thy reign; 9. thou didst love righteousness, and didst hate lawlessness; because of this did He anoint thee, God, thy God, with oil of gladness above thy partners;'

10. and, 'Thou, at the beginning, Lord, the earth didst found, and a work of thy hands are the heavens;

these shall perish, and Thou dost remain, and all, as a garment, shall become old, 12. and as a mantle Thou shall roll them together, and they shall be changed, and Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.' (Hebrews 1:8-12, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the author of Hebrews, who does not give his name, and who presents the quotation as God's words "of the Son" (1:8). Early tradition linked the letter to Paul, but that was disputed already in antiquity; Origen, as quoted by Eusebius, said that who wrote it, God alone knows
Audience: believers, apparently of Jewish background, who had already suffered for their faith (10:32-34) and were being tempted to drift away (2:1)
Location: not stated. "They of Italy salute you" (13:24) links the letter to Italy, either as the place of writing or as the readers' home
Time period: commonly dated before AD 70. The author argues as though the Levitical sacrifices were still being offered (10:1-2), never mentions the Temple's destruction, and speaks of Timothy as recently released (13:23)

Theological reading

"And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands." The "And" joins this quotation to the one before it, which is introduced "of the Son he saith" (1:8). The Son is still the one addressed.

Whose words these are. The quotation is Psalm 102:25-27. In the psalm the speaker is "the afflicted" who "poureth out his complaint before Jehovah" (102, title), and the one addressed is Jehovah: "Hear my prayer, O Jehovah" (102:1); "But thou, O Jehovah, wilt abide for ever" (102:12). The words about laying the foundation of the earth are spoken to the God of Israel as the Creator. Hebrews follows the Greek form of the psalm, which has the address "Lord" (Strong's G2962, kyrios) in this line.

The Witness answer. Witness writers answer that the Son was the agent through whom Jehovah created (Hebrews 1:2 says God "made the worlds" through him), so the psalm's words can be applied to him without making him Jehovah. The Christian reply is that the psalm does not describe an agent at all. It addresses the one who laid the earth's foundation and whose own hands made the heavens, and it goes on to contrast him with the whole creation: "They shall perish; but thou continuest ... But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail" (1:11-12). Applied to a creature, those lines would be false, since a creature is part of what the psalm says will wear out. Isaiah has Jehovah say that he "stretcheth forth the heavens alone" (Isaiah 44:24).

Why it matters. Within one chapter the Son is called "God" (1:8) and addressed as the Lord who made heaven and earth (1:10). Jehovah's Witnesses vs the Christian God sets Psalm 102:25-27 beside Hebrews 1:10-12 as one of the pairs that is hardest to explain away. See also Christ Was Made (Misread Proof-Texts) and Logos Christology.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G0746 - arche, arche, Strong's G0746
G2962 - kyrios, kyrios, Strong's G2962

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Angels, via Hebrews 1.5-14
Bible Anticipates Science, via Hebrews 1.10-12
Christ is God
Christ Was Made (Misread Proof-Texts), via Hebrews 1.10-12
Christianity
Christs Deity
David and Bathsheba, via Hebrews 1.5-12
Davidic Covenant, via Hebrews 1.5-12
Father-Son Authority Asymmetry, via Hebrews 1.8-12
Islamic Dilemma, via Hebrews 1.1-12
Monotheism, via Hebrews 1.8-12
Old Testament Witness to the Deity of Christ, via Hebrews 1.10-12
Resurrection of the Body, via Hebrews 1.5-12
Second Law of Thermodynamics, via Hebrews 1.10-12
Tahrif, via Hebrews 1.1-12
Two Powers in Heaven, via Hebrews 1.10-12, Hebrews 1.5-12

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.