HEB 1:7 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) On one hand he said to his messengers:[ref]
⇔ ‘The one making his messengers winds,
⇔ and making his ministers a fiery flame.’

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And on the one hand, with regard to the angels, he says,
⇔  “The one making his angels spirits,
⇔  and his servants flames of fire.”

UST God says this about the spiritual beings:
⇔ “I have caused the spiritual beings who serve me to be like the wind and like burning fire.”

BLB And indeed as to the angels He says: "The One making His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire."

AICNT And of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”[fn]

1:7, Psalms 104:4 LXX

OEB Speaking of the angels, he said –
⇔ “He makes the winds his angels
⇔ and the flames of fire his servants”;

WEBBE Of the angels he says,
⇔ “He makes his angels winds,
⇔ and his servants a flame of fire.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And he says of the angels, “ He makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,”

LSV and to the messengers, indeed, He says, “The [One] who is making His messengers spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire”;

FBV Regarding the angels, he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire,”[fn]

1:7 Quoting Psalms 104:4.

TCNT § Of the angels he says,
⇔ “He makes his angels winds,
⇔ and his servants a flame of fire,”

T4T And in the Scriptures it is written that someone said this about the angels:
⇔ God makes the angels who serve him to be changeable like [MET] winds and flames of fire.

LEB And concerning the angels he says,
• “The one who makes his angels winds,
• and his servants a flame of fire,”[fn]

1:7 A quotation from Ps 104:4|link-href="None"

BBE And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire:

Moff While he says of angels,
⇔ "Who makes his angels into winds,
⇔ his servants into flames of fire,"

Wymth Moreover of the angels He says, "He changes His angels into winds, and His ministering servants into a flame of fire."

ASV And of the angels he saith,
⇔ Who maketh his angels winds,
⇔ And his ministers a flame of fire:

DRA And to the angels indeed he saith: He that maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

YLT and unto the messengers, indeed, He saith, 'Who is making His messengers spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire;'

Drby And as to the angels he says, Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire;

RV And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire:
(And of the angels he saith/says, Who maketh/makes his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire: )

SLT And truly to the angels of God he says, Who making his angels spirits, and his workmen flames of fire.

Wbstr And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

KJB-1769 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
(And of the angels he saith/says, Who maketh/makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. )

KJB-1611 And of the Angels he saith: Who maketh his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And vnto the Angels he sayth: He maketh his Angels spirites, and his ministers a flambe of fyre.
(And unto the Angels he saith/says: He maketh/makes his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.)

Gnva And of the Angels he saith, He maketh the spirites his messengers, and his ministers a flame of fire.
(And of the Angels he saith/says, He maketh/makes the spirits his messengers, and his ministers a flame of fire. )

Cvdl And of the angels he sayeth: He maketh his angels spretes, & his mynisters flames of fyre.
(And of the angels he saith/says: He maketh/makes his angels spirits, and his ministers flames of fire.)

TNT And of the angels he sayth: He maketh his angels spretes and his ministres flammes of fyre.
(And of the angels he saith/says: He maketh/makes his angels spirits and his ministres flames of fire. )

Wycl But he seith to aungels, He that makith hise aungels spiritis, and hise mynystris flawme of fier.
(But he saith/says to angels, He that maketh/makes his angels spirits, and his ministers flame of fire.)

Luth Von den Engeln spricht er zwar: Er macht seine Engel Geister und seine Diener Feuerflammen;
(From the angels speaks/says he that_is: He power his angel spirits/ghosts and his servant fire(n)flammen;)

ClVg Et ad angelos quidem dicit: Qui facit angelos suos spiritus, et ministros suos flammam ignis.[fn]
(And to messenger/angels indeed he_says: Who he_does messenger/angels his_own spirit, and ministers his_own flamem fire. )

1.7 Angelos. Spiritus, naturæ nomen est; angelus, officii. Quos enim Deus spiritus condidit, mittendo nuntios, angelos facit. Et omnibus utitur ad incommutabile arbitrium sententiæ suæ, sive bonis per gratiam ejus, sive malis per propriam voluntatem. Ac per hoc voluntas Dei est prima et summa causa omnium corporalium specierum atque motionum. Nihil enim visibiliter fit, quod non de interiori invisibili atque intelligibili aula summi imperatoris, aut jubeatur, aut permittatur, secundum ineffabilem justitiam. Vel illi spiritus dicuntur angeli quando levia nuntiare mittuntur: quando autem ad vindictam, ut in Sodoma, dicuntur ignis ardens. Sic et ministri Ecclesiæ, ignis sunt dum vitia nostra uruntur, angeli autem, dum verbum Dei nuntiant.

1.7 Angelos. Spirit, of_nature name it_is; messenger/angel, office. Quos because God spirit condidit, sendndo messengers, messenger/angels he_does. And to_all uses to incommutabile choice sentences his/her_own, if/or good through grace his, if/or bad_things through own will. Ac through this will/desire(n) of_God it_is the_first and sum/total cause of_all bodilyum in_appearancerum and_yet movedonum. Nothing because visibiliter fit, that not/no from/about interiori invisibili and_yet intelligible aula highest commandsoris, or yubeatur, or permittatur, after/second ineffabilem justice. Or them spirit are_said messengers/angels when levia nuntiare are_sent: when however to vengeance/revenge, as in/into/on Sodoma, are_said fire burning. So and ministers Assemblies/Churches, fire are while vices our uruntur, messengers/angels however, while the_word/saying of_God nuntiant.

UGNT καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει, ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα;
(kai pros men tous angelous legei, ho poiōn tous angelous autou pneumata, kai tous leitourgous autou puros floga;)

SBL-GNT καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει· Ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα·
(kai pros men tous angelous legei; Ho poiōn tous angelous autou pneumata, kai tous leitourgous autou puros floga;)

RP-GNT Καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει, Ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα·
(Kai pros men tous angelous legei, Ho poiōn tous angelous autou pneumata, kai tous leitourgous autou puros floga;)

TC-GNT § Καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει,
⇔ Ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα,
⇔ καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα·
( § Kai pros men tous angelous legei,
⇔ Ho poiōn tous angelous autou pneumata,
⇔ kai tous leitourgous autou puros floga; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:5–14: Jesus is clearly greater than the angels since God calls him “Son”

In Section 1:5–14 there are seven quotations from the Old Testament, mostly from the Psalms. All the quotations are poetry and contain figurative language.

You will need to decide:

how to translate the figurative language in a clear and meaningful way.
whether to make paragraph breaks between these quotations. English versions differ in this.For example, the RSV begins a new paragraph only at 1:5. The GNT begins new paragraphs at 1:4, 1:7, and 1:14. The Notes begin a new paragraph wherever the author has a quote introduction.
how to format the quotations and whether to include an OT cross reference. English versions differ about this also. If you have made a decision about this for other NT books, you may follow that decision in Hebrews also. The quotations in this section are poetry, so many English versions format them in poetic lines.
how to introduce the quotations. Some English versions use past tense (“God said”) to introduce the quotations, since God spoke the words in the past. Other versions use present tense (“God says”), since the statements are written in the Scripture and the time when he said them is not in focus. Use an appropriate verb form in your language.

It is good to translate the section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other examples of headings for this section are:

The angels are servants of God but Jesus is his Son

God’s Son is Superior to the Angels (GW)

The Greatness of God’s Son (GNT)

Paragraph 1:7–9

In this paragraph the author again quoted from the OT to show that the Son is greater than the angels. The quotation in 1:7 about the angels contrasts with the one in 1:8–9 about the Son. The author shows this contrast in the way he introduces the quotations. For example:

About the angels, he says…but about the Son he says…

Translate this contrast in a natural way in your language.

1:7a

Now about the angels He says:

¶ And when God was speaking of his angels, he said
¶ About the angels God said this:

Now: This word introduces another contrast between the angels and the Son. It is not a time word. Other ways to translate this word are:

And

Also,

Some languages can allow the context to indicate the introduction and do not need to translate this word.

about the angels He says: Here the author introduces the fourth quotation that he has given from the OT. It is taken from Psalm 104:4, where God speaks about his angels. Some other ways to introduce this quotation are:

God said about the angels (GW)

And when God speaks about the angels, he says (CEV)

angels: The word angels means spirit beings who serve God. The word angels first occurs in Hebrews in 1:4. For more information, see the note there.

1:7b

“He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.”

that he makes the angels who serve him into winds and fire.
“I change my angels into wind and my servants into flaming fire.” (CEV)

This part of the verse is a quotation from Psalm 104:4. It has two parallel statements about God and the angels:

He makes his angels winds

and he makes his servants flames of fire

Notice that in the second line the words “and he makes” are implied. For examples of how these two statements can be combined into one statement, see the General Comment on 1:7b at the end of 1:7b.

He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire: This statement is part of a contrast that the author makes between the angels and the Son. It shows that the angels are part of God’s creation, as wind and fire are. Angels obey God completely, and he can change them in any way he wants to. He can make them like winds or fire. This statement may refer to the time when God gave his law to people on Mt. Sinai.Cockerill 1979:109 says, “When God spoke on Sinai he was accompanied by angels and surrounded by winds and fire (Exodus 19:16–18; Deuteronomy 5:22–26). As awesome as those manifestations were, they betokened the temporality of the angels in comparison to one more awesome.”

Some other ways to translate this statement are:

As a metaphor. For example:
I change my angels into wind and my servants into flaming fire. (CEV)
As a simile. For example:
In the angels’ serving of me I can make them like wind or like flames of fire.Tagbanwa back translation on TW.

Translate the meaning in a natural way to fit with the contrast between the angels and the Son in 1:8.

winds: The quotation does not specify how God’s messengers are like winds. In some languages it may be more natural to use a singular form. For example:

wind (CEV)

servants: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servants usually refers to people who serve the public as respected officials. Their duties include religious responsibilities. Here the word refers to the angels as heavenly servants of God. God has given them great power to do his will. Use an appropriate word in your language to refer to such powerful servants. For example:

ministers (NET)

messengers

General Comment on 1:7b

The two statements in 1:7b are parallel, and “angels” and “servants” refer to the same beings. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the meaning without using parallel statements. For example:

God created his angels to be his servants, and he can make them like wind or fire.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-quotations

καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί πρός μέν τούς ἀγγέλους λέγει Ὁ ποιῶν τούς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα καί τούς λειτουργούς αὐτοῦ πυρός φλόγα)

The author quotes from the Old Testament. He does not introduce it as a quotation but instead as words that God has spoken about angels. However, the audience would have understood that this was a quotation from the Old Testament, here from the Greek translation of [Psalm 104:4](../../psa/104/04.md). Since the author introduces this quotation as words that God has said about the angels, you should introduce the quotation as words that someone has said. If your readers would not know that the quotation is from the Old Testament, you could include a footnote or use some other form to identify the quotation. The word And was a normal way in the author’s culture to introduce another quotation. Alternate translation: [On the one hand, with regard to the angels, God declares]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα

The quotation includes two statements that mean almost the same thing. This was considered good poetry in the author’s culture. If this would not be good poetry in your culture, and if repetition would be confusing, you could combine the two statements. Alternate translation: [The one who makes his servant angels to be spirits and flames of fire]

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

ὁ ποιῶν & αὐτοῦ & αὐτοῦ

The words The one and his refer to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make the reference explicit. Alternate translation: [God makes his … his]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

ὁ ποιῶν & αὐτοῦ & αὐτοῦ

The author has God speaking about himself in the third person. He uses this form because the quotation uses the third person to speak about God, and the author claims that God speaks the quotation. If it would be helpful in your language, you could clarify that God is speaking about himself. Alternate translation: [I am the one who makes his angels spirits and his servants flames of fire]

πνεύματα

spirits

Here, the word translated as spirits could refer to: (1) “winds,” since the word could mean either spirits or “winds” in the author’s culture. Alternate translation: [winds] (2) how God made the angels to be “spiritual” beings. Alternate translation: [spiritual beings]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα

The author of the quotation speaks as if God turned his angels into spirits and into flames of fire. He speaks in this way to identify what the angels are like and to show that God made them like that. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a form that identifies what God made the angels like. Alternate translation: [The one who makes his angels so that they are like spirits, and his servants so that they are like flames of fire]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

πυρὸς φλόγα

The author uses the possessive form to describe flames that are made of fire. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea with an adjective such as “fiery.” Alternate translation: [fiery flames] or [flames made of fire]

Parallel HEB 1:7

Section 1:5–14: Jesus is clearly greater than the angels since God calls him “Son”

Paragraph 1:7–9

1:7a

1:7b

General Comment on 1:7b