| Bible Research > English Versions > Hebrews 1:1-4 |
The quotations below are drawn from several sources, many of them from the similar conspectus in Geddes MacGregor’s a Literary History of the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon, 1968). I have modernized the spelling and punctuation in the early versions. - M.D.M.
1 πολυμερως και πολυτροπως παλαι ο θεος λαλησας τοις πατρασιν εν τοις προφηταις 2 επ εσχατου [εσχατων] των ημερων τουτων ελαλησεν ημιν εν υιω, ον εθηκεν κληρονομον παντων, δι ου και εποιησεν τους αιωνας: 3 ος ων απαυγασμα της δοξης και χαρακτηρ της υποστασεως αυτου, φερων τε τα παντα τω ρηματι της δυναμεως αυτου, [δι εαυτου] καθαρισμον των αμαρτιων [ημων] ποιησαμενος εκαθισεν εν δεξια της μεγαλωσυνης εν υψηλοις, 4 τοσουτω κρειττων γενομενος των αγγελων οσω διαφορωτερον παρ αυτους κεκληρονομηκεν ονομα.
NOTE: The variations of the earlier and later Greek manuscripts indicated here are responsible for three distinct differences to be seen in the versions below. It will be noticed that versions based upon the Latin Vulgate or the older Greek manuscripts differ from the versions based upon the Received Text in these three points:
1 Multifariam, et multis modis olim Deus loquens patribus in prophetis: 2 novissime, diebus istis locutus est nobis in Filio, quem constituit heredem universorum, per quem fecit et saecula: 3 qui cum sit splendor gloriae, et figura substantiae eius, portansque omnia verbo virtutis suae, purgationem peccatorum faciens, sedit ad dexteram Maiestatis in excelsis: 4 tanto melior angelis effectus, quanto differentius prae illis nomen hereditavit. (ed. Fischer, 1983)
Manifold and many manners sometime God speaking to fathers in prophets, at the last in these days spake to us in the Son, whom he ordained heir of all things, by whom he made and the worlds. The which one he is the shining of glory and figure of his substance, and bearing all things by word of his virtue, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the righthalf of Majesty in high things; so much made better than angels, by how much he hath inherited a more different, or excellent, name before them.
God, that spake sometime by prophets in many manners to our fathers, at the last in these days he hath spoke to us by the Son, whom he hath ordained heir of all things, and by whom he made the worlds. Which one also he is the brightness of glory and figure of his substance, and beareth all things by word of his virtue, he maketh purgation of sins and sitteth on the righthalf of the Majesty in heavens; and so much is made better than angels, by how much he hath inherited a more diverse name before them.
God in time past diversely and many ways spake unto the fathers by prophets: but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things: by whom also he made the world. Which Son, being the brightness of his glory and very image of his substance, bearing up all things with the word of his power, hath in his own person purged our sins, and is sitten on the right hand of the Majesty on high, and is more excellent than the angels in as much as he hath by inheritance obtained an excellenter name than have they.
God in time past diversely and many ways spake unto the fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. Which [Son], being the brightness of his glory and the very image of his substance, bearing up all things with the word of his power, hath in his own person purged our sins, and is set on the right hand of the Majesty on high: being even as much more excellent than the angels, as he hath obtained a more excellent name than they.
God in time past diversely and many ways spake unto the fathers by the prophets: but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things: by whom also he made the world. Which Son, being the brightness of his glory and very image of his substance, bearing up all things with the word of his power, hath in his own person purged our sins, and is sitten on the right hand of the Majesty on high, and is more excellent than the angels in as much as he hath by inheritance obtained an excellenter name than have they.
God in time past diversely and many ways spake unto the fathers by prophets, but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his own Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. Which [Son] being the brightness of his glory and the very image of his substance, ruling all things with the word of his power, hath by his own person purged our sins, and sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being so much more excellent than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
1 At sundry times and in diverse manners God spake in the old time to our fathers by the prophets: 2 In these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, 3 who, being the brightness of the glory, and the engraved form of his person, and bearing up all things by his mighty word, hath by himself purged our sins, and sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty in the high places; 4 and is made so much more excellent than the angels in as much as he hath obtained a more excellent name than they.
1 God, which in time past, at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake unto the fathers in the prophets, 2 hath in these last days spoken unto us in the Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. 3 Who, being the brightness of the glory and the very image of his substance, upholding all things with the word of his power, having by himself purged our sins, hath sat on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 being so much more excellent than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
1 Diversely and many ways in times past God speaking to the fathers in the prophets,
2 last of all in these days hath spoken to us in his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all, by whom he made also the worlds.
3 Who, being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and carrying all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty in the high places;
4 being made so much better than angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name above them.
1 God, who at sundry times, and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds,
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
1 God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the ages. 3 Who being a beam of his glory, and the express image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high, 4 being made so much better than the Angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
1 God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake of old to the fathers by the prophets, 2 hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son; whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the worlds: 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and sustaining all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 Being so much higher than the angels, as he hath by inheritance a more excellent name than they.
1 In many parts and many ways, God of old having spoken to the fathers in the prophets, 2 in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages; 3 who being the brightness of the glory, and the impress of His subsistence, bearing up also the all things by the saying of his might - through himself having made a cleansing of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the greatness in the highest, 4 having become so much better than the messengers, as he did inherit a more excellent name than they.
1 God having spoken in many parts and in many ways formerly to the fathers in the prophets, 2 at the end of these days has spoken to us in [the person of the] Son, whom he has established heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 who being [the] effulgence of his glory and [the] expression of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, having made [by himself] the purification of sins, set himself down on the right hand of the greatness on high, 4 taking a place by so much better than the angels, as he inherits a name more excellent than they.
1 God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, 2 hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in [his] Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; 3 who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
1 God, who in ancient days spoke to our forefathers in many distinct messages and by various methods through the Prophets, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us through a Son, who is the pre-destined Lord of the universe, and through whom He made the Ages. 3 He brightly reflects God’s glory and is the exact representation of His being, and upholds the universe by His all-powerful word. After securing man’s purification from sin He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as far superior to the angels as the Name He possesses by inheritance is more excellent than theirs.
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 last of all in these days has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world; 3 who, being the brightness of his glory and the image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, has effected man’s purgation from sin and taken his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much superior to the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.
1 After God had of old spoken to our fathers at various times and in many ways by means of the prophets,
2 He has at the end of these days spoken to us in His Son, whom He has appointed Heir to all things and through whom He made the worlds.
3 As the reflection of God’s glory and the true expression of His being, He sustains the universe by His almighty word. And when He had effected our cleaning from sin, He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
4 He became as much mightier than the angels as the name He inherited was superior to theirs.
1 In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
1 In times past the word of God came to our fathers through the prophets, in different parts and in different ways; 2 But now, at the end of these days, it has come to us through his Son, to whom he has given all things for a heritage, and through whom he made the order of the generations; 3 Who, being the outshining of his glory, the true image of his substance, supporting all things by the word of his power, having given himself as an offering making clean from sins, took his seat at the right hand of God in heaven; 4 Having become by so much better than the angels, as the name which is his heritage is more noble than theirs.
1 In many separate revelations - each of which set forth a portion of the Truth - and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets.
2 [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time - [that is,] He made, produced, built, operated and arranged them in order.
3 He is the sole expression of the glory of God - the Light-being, the out-raying of the divine - and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high,
4 [Taking a place and rank by which] He Himself became as much superior to angels as the glorious Name (title) which He has inherited is different from and more excellent than theirs.
1 At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; 2 But in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. 3 He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. 4 So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
1 In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; 2 in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe. 3 This Son is the reflection of the Father’s glory, the exact representation of the Father’s being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, 4 as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
1 Long ago God spoke in many different ways to our fathers through the prophets [in visions, dreams, and even face to face], telling them little by little about his plans.
2 But now in these days he has spoken to us through his Son to whom he has given everything, and through whom he made the world and everything there is.
3 God’s Son shines out with God’s glory, and all that God’s Son is and does marks him as God. He regulates the universe by the mighty power of his command. He is the one who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down in the highest honor beside the great God of heaven.
4 Thus he became far greater than the angels, as proved by the fact that his name "Son of God," which was passed on to him from his Father, is far greater than the names and titles of the angels.
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end.
3 He reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact likeness of God’s own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of mankind, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.
4 The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the name that God gave him is greater than theirs.
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
1 At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; 2 but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the ages. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and bears the impress of God’s own being, sustaining all things by his powerful command; and now that he has purged sins away, he has taken his seat at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high. 4 So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
1 In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; 2 in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, 3 who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries.
Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end.
This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says - powerful words!
After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God,
far higher than any angel in rank and rule.
1 Long ago in many ways and at many times God’s prophets spoke his message to our ancestors.
2 But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the univese by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son.
3 God’s Son has all the brightness of God’s own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.
After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side of the glorious God in heaven.
4 He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs.
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through the prophets.
2 In these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. God made his Son responsible for everything. His Son is the one through whom God made the universe.
3 His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he received the highest position, the one next to the Father in heaven.
4 The Son has become greater than the angels since he has been given a name that is superior to theirs.
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
2 But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he made the universe and everything in it.
3 The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. After he died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God of heaven.
4 This shows that God’s Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is far greater than their names.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
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