Hebrews — Chapter 2
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1We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment,
3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
4and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.
5For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.
6But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
7You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor
8and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
11For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
12He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”
13And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”
14Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
16For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham.
17For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
5For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
6But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
13And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
17Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
1Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away [from them].
2For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
3how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard;
4God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.
5For not unto angels did he subject the world to come, whereof we speak.
6But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him.
9But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, [even] Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every [man].
10For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, In the midst of the congregation will I sing thy praise.
13And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me.
14Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16For verily not to angels doth he give help, but he giveth help to the seed of Abraham.
17Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
18For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
1Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
2For if the message spoken through angels proved to be so firm that every violation or disobedience received its just penalty,
3how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,
4while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
5For he did not put the world to come, about which we are speaking, under the control of angels.
6Instead someone testified somewhere: “What is man that you think of him or the son of man that you care for him?
7You made him lower than the angels for a little while. You crowned him with glory and honor.
8You put all things under his control.” For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control,
9but we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God’s grace he would experience death on behalf of everyone.
10For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
12saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”
13Again he says, “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, with the children God has given me.”
14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),
15and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.
16For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants.
17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
1Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
2For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense;
3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation—which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard;
4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
5For he didn’t subject the world to come, of which we speak, to angels.
6But one has somewhere testified, saying, “What is man, that you think of him? Or the son of man, that you care for him?
7You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor.
8You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we don’t see all things subjected to him, yet.
9But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.
10For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
13Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”
14Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham.
17Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Summary
The author warns against drifting away from what has been heard, since the message once given through angels carried binding consequences — making it far more serious to neglect the salvation announced by the Lord and confirmed by those who heard him, with God adding his own testimony through signs, wonders, and gifts of the Spirit (vv. 1-4). Quoting Psalm 8, he notes that humanity, not angels, was given dominion over the world to come, and though we don't yet see that fully realized, we do see Jesus — made lower than the angels for a time and now crowned with glory because he tasted death for everyone (vv. 5-9). It was fitting for God to perfect the founder of salvation through suffering, since Jesus and those he saves share one origin (vv. 10-13). By sharing fully in flesh and blood, he defeated the one who held the power of death and freed those enslaved by fear of dying, becoming a merciful and faithful high priest able to help those who are tempted (vv. 14-18).
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the drift warning, Psalm 8's fulfillment in Christ, the reasons for the Incarnation, and Christ as merciful High Priest.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Hebrews -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Don't Drift Away (v.1) — The warning here isn't about open rebellion, but about slowly, imperceptibly floating away from what we've heard. What quiet drift have you noticed in your own walk with God lately?
- The Danger of Neglect (v.3) — The author asks how anyone will escape if they neglect a salvation that great, one spoken by the Lord Himself and confirmed by those who heard Him. Is there anything about your faith you know to be true but simply aren't acting on?
- Fixing Your Eyes on Jesus (v.9) — Even though we don't yet see everything in its proper order, we do see Jesus, crowned with glory because He suffered death for everyone. When life feels unresolved, is Jesus where your eyes actually go?
- Christ Defeated Death (v.14) — Christ shared fully in human flesh and blood so that through His own death He could destroy the one who held the power of death. Does knowing death has already been defeated change how you carry the fear of it?
- A High Priest Who Understands (v.18) — Because Christ Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted now. When temptation hits, is Christ the first place you turn, or the last?