HEB 2:15 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=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
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 might release those people, as many as, in fear of death throughout all their lives, were held in slavery.

UST When he did that, he got rid of the way that dying makes us afraid while we live.

BSB and free those who all [their] lives were held in slavery by [their] fear of death.

BLB and might set free those who all their time to live were subject to slavery through fear of death.

AICNT and might set free these, as many as were subject to slavery all their lives by the fear of death.

OEB and so might deliver all those who, from fear of death, had all their lives been living in slavery.

WEBBE and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.

LSV and might deliver those, whoever, with fear of death, throughout all their life, were subjects of bondage,

FBV and free everyone who through fear of death were enslaved all their lives.

TCNT and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

T4T Jesus did that to free all of us who are like slaves [MET] all the time we live, because we are forced to be afraid to die.

LEB and could set free these who through fear of death were subject to slavery throughout all their lives.

BBE And let those who all their lives were in chains because of their fear of death, go free.

Moff and release from thraldom those who lay under a life-long fear of death.

Wymth and might set at liberty all those who through fear of death had been subject to lifelong slavery.

ASV and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

DRA And might deliver them, who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to servitude.

YLT and might deliver those, whoever, with fear of death, throughout all their life, were subjects of bondage,

Drby and might set free all those who through fear of death through the whole of their life were subject to bondage.

RV and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

SLT And deliver them, as many as by fear of death were always to live bound by slavery.

Wbstr And deliver them, who, through fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage.

KJB-1769 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

KJB-1611 And deliuer them, who through feare of death were all their life time subiect to bondage.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And that he myght delyuer them, which through feare of death, were all their lyfe tyme in daunger of bondage.
(And that he might deliver them, which through fear of death, were all their life time in danger of bondage.)

Gnva And that he might deliuer all them, which for feare of death were all their life time subiect to bondage.
(And that he might deliver all them, which for fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. )

Cvdl & that he mighte delyuer the which thorow feare of death were all their life tyme in dauger of bodage.
(and that he might deliver the which through fear of death were all their life time in danger of bodage.)

TNT and that he myght delyver the which thorow feare of deeth were all their lyfetyme in dauger of bondage.
(and that he might delyver the which through fear of death were all their lifetyme in danger of bondage. )

Wycl and that he schulde delyuere hem that bi drede of deth, `bi al lijf weren boundun to seruage.
(and that he should deliver hem that by dread of death, by all life were bound to servitude.)

Luth und erlösete die, so durch Furcht des Todes im ganzen Leben Knechte sein mußten.
(and redeemed that, so through fear(n) the death in_the entire life servant(s) be had_ton.)

ClVg et liberaret eos qui timore mortis per totam vitam obnoxii erant servituti.
(and would_free them who/which with_fear of_death through the_whole life obnoxii they_were servituti. )

UGNT καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου, διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν, ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.
(kai apallaxaʸ toutous, hosoi fobōi thanatou, dia pantos tou zaʸn, enoⱪoi aʸsan douleias.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.
(kai apallaxaʸ toutous, hosoi fobōi thanatou dia pantos tou zaʸn enoⱪoi aʸsan douleias.)

RP-GNT καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῇν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.
(kai apallaxaʸ toutous, hosoi fobōi thanatou dia pantos tou zaʸn enoⱪoi aʸsan douleias.)

TC-GNT καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῇν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.
(kai apallaxaʸ toutous, hosoi fobōi thanatou dia pantos tou zaʸn enoⱪoi aʸsan douleias. )

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:5–18: Jesus, the Son of God, became a human being

In the previous section, the author stated the seriousness of ignoring the Son’s message of salvation. In this section he gave more reasons why Jesus is greater than the angels and why we should take Jesus’ salvation more seriously than the law that was received through the angels. Some of these reasons are:

Jesus, not the angels, will control the future world (2:5)
Jesus humbled himself in order to make himself like us:
- In our lower position (2:7, 2:9)
- In our suffering and death (2:10, 2:14)
- As his brothers, God’s children (2:11–14, 2:17)
Jesus can:
- Bring us to glory (2:10)
- Bring us to salvation (2:10)
- Make us holy (2:11)
- Break the power of death (2:14)
- Sets us free from the fear of death (2:15)
- Help us (he did not come to help angels) (2:16)
- Be a merciful and faithful high priest before God (2:17)
- Take away the sins of people (2:17)
- Help us when we are tempted (2:18)
- [Angels cannot do this]

Some other possible headings for this section are:

The Son became human to save us

Christ Became like Humans (NCV)

Jesus Became One of Us to Help Us (GW)

Paragraph 2:14–18

The final paragraph of chapter 2 explains in more detail why God’s Son had to become a human being like us. He came to defeat the devil, and stop people from being afraid to die. He also became human so that he could become the high priest for his people. In these ways, he is greater than the angels, because none of them was able to become human, defeat the devil, and free his people from fearing death.

The author briefly introduces the topic of Jesus as our high priest, which he will discuss more fully in 4:14–5:10 and 7:1–8:1.

2:15a

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery

Then he would release those people who were like slaves as long as they lived,
Jesus also died to rescue all of us^(incl) who live each day

2:15b

by their fear of death.

because they were afraid to die.
in fear of dying.

2:15

and free those who…were held in slavery by their fear of death: This clause tells the second purpose that Jesus had in becoming a human being (2:14b) and dying (2:14c). Jesus became human and died in order to set people free from the fear of death.

The verb free and the phrase held in slavery by are metaphors. The author used them to compare what Jesus did to the way someone rescues people from slavery. People were living like slaves because they were always afraid to die. After Jesus died for them (and came alive again), the people became free from fearing death. They did not have to be afraid to die anymore.

Some ways to translate this meaning are:

Keep the metaphors. For example:
Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (NLT)
Use a simile and make the comparison more explicit. For example:
and free those who were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death (NCV)
to release/help those who were living like slaves because they were afraid to die
Use a different figure of speech that has the same meaning in your language. For example:
he helped those who were afraid to die and took away their fear. For as long as they lived, they were gripped/held tightly by their fear of dying.
Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying (CEV)

Translate the figure of speech in a natural way in your language.

those who: The phrase those who is a general way to refer to everyone who feared death, that is, to human beings in general. In some languages it may be more natural to use a different way to refer to them. For example:

all of us who… (CEV)

everyone who

we…our

who all their lives: The phrase who all their lives refers to the time that the people were alive on earth. Some other ways to translate it are:

who live each day (CEV)

beginning from the time of their birthKankanaey back translation on TW.

since our becoming people here in this worldTagbanwa back translation on TW.

Refer to the people’s lifetimes in a natural way in your language.

all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death: Notice that the phrase by their fear of death is the cause or reason for the fact that all their lives people were held in slavery. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of these phrases so that the reason comes before the result. For example:

all their lives they were afraid to die and/so they lived like slaves

General Comment on 2:14–15

In Greek 2:14–15 is one long sentence. In many languages it is more natural to translate it with two or three sentences. For example:

So because God’s children have human bodies, he also received a human body like they had. He did this so that when he died, he would make powerless the one who controls death, that is, the devil. Then he would release those people who were like slaves as long as they lived, because they were afraid to die.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου, διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν, ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας

˓may˒_release these as_many_as ˱by˲_fear ˱of˲_death (Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διά παντός τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας)

The author speaks as if the fear of death were something that could hold people in slavery. Taking away this fear is thus “releasing” those people from slavery. The author speaks in this way to emphasize how controlling and powerful the fear of death is and how Jesus completely takes away the power that this fear can hold. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [might free those people, as many as, in fear of death throughout all their lives, were held tightly] or [might help those people, as many as continually lived in fear of death throughout all their lives]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου, διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν, ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας

If it would be helpful in your language, you could arrange these elements in a different way. Alternate translation: [might release as many as were held in slavery to fear of death throughout all their lives]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

φόβῳ θανάτου

˱by˲_fear ˱of˲_death

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of fear and death, you could express the ideas by using verbs such as “fear” and “die” or in another natural way. Alternate translation: [by how they fear to die]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας

liable were ˱to˲_slavery