HEB 2:4 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, 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 God also testifying together with them by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

UST God also has confirmed to us that this message is true by empowering believers to do powerful and amazing things. Further, he gave the Holy Spirit to believers, to each as God chose.

BSB [and] was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and {gifts} of [the] Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

BLB God bearing witness with them both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to His will.

AICNT with God bearing witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his own will?

OEB while God himself added his testimony to it by signs, and marvels, and many different miracles, as well as by imparting the Holy Spirit as he saw fit.

WEBBE God 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?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

LSV God also bearing joint-witness both with signs and wonders, and manifold powers, and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to His will.

FBV God also testified through signs and miracles, by acts that show his power, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, given as he chose.

TCNT God also bore further witness with signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

T4T God also confirmed to us that this message was true by enabling believers to do many things that showed God’s power, to do other miraculous things [DOU], and to do other things by the gifts that the Holy Spirit distributed to them according to what God desired.

LEB while[fn] God was testifying at the same time by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

2:4 *Here “while” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was testifying at the same time”)

BBE And God was a witness with them, by signs and wonders, and by more than natural powers, and by his distribution of the Holy Spirit at his pleasure.

Moff while God corroborated their testimony with signs and wonders and a variety of miraculous powers, distributing the holy Spirit as it pleased him.

Wymth while God corroborated their testimony by signs and marvels and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed in accordance with His own will.

ASV God 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.

DRA God also bearing them witness by signs, and wonders, and divers miracles, and distributions of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.

YLT God also bearing joint-witness both with signs and wonders, and manifold powers, and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to His will.

Drby [fn]God bearing, besides, witness with [them] to [it], both by signs and wonders, and various acts of power, and distributions of [the] Holy Spirit, according to his will?

2.4 Elohim

RV God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.

SLT God confirming the testimony, together with signs and wonders, and various powers, and partitions of the Holy Spirit, according to his will.

Wbstr God also bearing them testimony, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?

KJB-1769 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
(God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse/various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? )

KJB-1611 God also bearing them witnesse, both with signes & wonders, and with diuers miracles, [fn]and gifts of the holy Ghost, according to his owne will?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and footnotes)

2:4 Or, distributions.

Bshps God bearyng witnesse therto both with signes & wonders also, and with diuers powers and gyftes of the holy ghost, accordyng to his owne wyll.
(God bearing witness thereto both with signs and wonders also, and with diverse/various powers and gifts of the holy ghost, according to his own will.)

Gnva God bearing witnes thereto, both with signes and wonders, and with diuers miracles, and gifts of the holy Ghost, according to his owne will?
(God bearing witness thereto, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse/various miracles, and gifts of the holy Ghost, according to his own will? )

Cvdl God bearynge witnesse therto, with tokens, wonders and dyuerse powers, and giftes of the holy goost acordinge to his awne wyll.
(God bearing witness thereto, with tokens, wonders and diverse/various powers, and gifts of the holy ghost according to his own will.)

TNT god bearynge witnes therto bothe with sygnes and wonders also and with divers miracles and gyftes of the holy gooste accordynge to his awne will.
(god bearing witness thereto both with sygnes and wonders also and with diverse/various miracles and gifts of the holy ghost accordinge to his own will. )

Wycl For God witnesside to gidere bi myraclis, and wondris, and grete merueilis, and dyuerse vertues, and departyngis of the Hooli Goost, bi his wille.
(For God witnessed together by myraclis, and wonders, and great marvellous, and diverse/various virtues, and departings of the Holy Ghost, by his will.)

Luth Und GOtt hat ihr Zeugnis gegeben mit Zeichen, Wundern und mancherlei Kräften und mit Austeilung des Heiligen Geistes nach seinem Willen.
(And God has you(pl)/their/her transcript given with sign, miracle/wonder and various strength/power and with Austeilung the saints/holy_ones spirit after his Will.)

ClVg contestante Deo signis et portentis, et variis virtutibus, et Spiritus Sancti distributionibus secundum suam voluntatem.[fn]
(contestante to_God signs and portentis, and various virtues, and Spirit Holy distributionibus after/second his_own will. )

2.4 Et Spiritus distributionibus. Per hoc affluentiam designat gratiarum, quæ non erat apud antiquos, neque tanta signa, neque tam diversa prodigia per quod ostendit, quia non simpliciter est eis creditum, sed per ligna et prodigia. Ideoque cum credimus, non illis, sed Deo nos credere declaratur.

2.4 And Spirit distributionibus. Per this affluentiam designates thanks, which not/no was at the_ancients, nor such_a_great_deal signs, nor tam different prodigies/wonders through that he_showed, because not/no simply it_is to_them he_believesum, but through wood and prodigies/wonders. Therefore/For_that_reasonque when/with we_believe, not/no to_them, but to_God us to_believe declaratur.

UGNT συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ Θεοῦ σημείοις τε, καὶ τέρασιν, καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν, καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μερισμοῖς, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν.
(sunepimarturountos tou Theou saʸmeiois te, kai terasin, kai poikilais dunamesin, kai Pneumatos Hagiou merismois, kata taʸn autou thelaʸsin.)

SBL-GNT συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ σημείοις τε καὶ τέρασιν καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου μερισμοῖς κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν;
(sunepimarturountos tou theou saʸmeiois te kai terasin kai poikilais dunamesin kai pneumatos hagiou merismois kata taʸn autou thelaʸsin;)

RP-GNT συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ σημείοις τε καὶ τέρασιν, καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν, καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου μερισμοῖς, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν.
(sunepimarturountos tou theou saʸmeiois te kai terasin, kai poikilais dunamesin, kai pneumatos hagiou merismois, kata taʸn autou thelaʸsin.)

TC-GNT συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ Θεοῦ σημείοις [fn]τε καὶ τέρασι, καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσι, καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μερισμοῖς, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν.
(sunepimarturountos tou Theou saʸmeiois te kai terasi, kai poikilais dunamesi, kai Pneumatos Hagiou merismois, kata taʸn autou thelaʸsin. )

2:4 τε ¦ — PCK

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

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Apostasy

Sadly, opposition to God is not limited to those outside the community of faith; the Bible tells of many people who seemed to know God but turned away (see Num 16; Deut 13; 2 Kgs 17:5-23; Ezek 8). God brings just consequences to those who turn away from him (Job 11:20; Prov 1:24-31; Jer 11:11). Jesus spoke of those who fall away and the judgment they will receive (Matt 16:27; 23:13; 24:10-13; 25:41-46), and the writers of the New Testament follow his lead (Gal 1:6-9; 2 Tim 3:1-9; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 2:18-19).

The Bible as a whole is clear that disobeying God has severe consequences (see, e.g., Gen 9:5-6; Num 35:16-21; Lev 20:10; Zech 5:4). Those who oppose God’s will and rule will ultimately be excluded from his life-giving presence (Isa 66:14-24). In this vein, several passages in Hebrews warn that those who fail to take God’s word seriously are in deep spiritual trouble and will face the judgment of God (see Heb 2:1-4; 4:12-13; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:25-29).

Scholars have understood the nature of the apostasy (falling away) and judgment described in the “warning passages” of Hebrews in various ways: (1) Some have understood the warnings to be hypothetical, suggesting that the harshness serves simply to shock the hearers out of spiritual lethargy, with no impending judgment in view. (2) A second position holds that those with whom the author was concerned were Jewish and had not yet converted to Christianity. Thus they were under God’s judgment because they were not yet a part of the new covenant. (3) A third view argues that the “apostates” in view were Christians who, because of their spiritual condition, faced some measure of God’s judgment as believers, but were in no danger of actually losing their salvation. (4) A fourth view suggests that the apostates had been full members of the Christian community and had experienced the full reality of the Christian faith but had now turned their backs on Christ and the church. (5) A fifth view is that, rather than having been true believers, the apostates showed that they never really knew Christ in the first place.

Ultimately, warnings of judgment are an expression of God’s grace, seeking to turn the rebellious person to the ways of God. Taking the consequences of apostasy seriously can help us build resolve in faithfully following Jesus.

Passages for Further Study

Num 16:1-50; Deut 13:1-18; 2 Kgs 17:5-23; Ezek 8:1-18; Matt 24:10-13; Gal 1:6-9; 2 Tim 3:1-9; Heb 2:1-4; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 2:18-19

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–4: Warning: Do not ignore what God has spoken

In the last verse of chapter 1, the author mentioned “salvation.” In 2:1–4, he told the people to pay careful attention to this salvation that God’s Son brought them. He warned them that if they did not pay attention to it, God would certainly punish them. Their punishment would be greater than the punishment of people who ignored the law, since the law was brought only by angels. This warning is the first of five important warnings in the book of Hebrews.

In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of some of the parts of 2:2–3 to help readers understand the contrast between the law and the salvation that the Son brought. See the General Comment on 2:2–3 at the end of 2:3b for an example.

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

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation (ESV)

We must give earnest attention to what we have heard

Some translators decide to combine this section with 2:5–10. If you decide to do that, one possible section heading is:

Everything Is Under Jesus’ Control (GW)

2:4

This verse tells four ways that God testified along with the people who heard Jesus. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this verse as a separate sentence or more than one sentence. In other languages it may be helpful to change the order of information or to combine some of the four types of testimony. See the General Comment on 2:4a–c at the end of 2:4c for examples.

2:4a

and was affirmed by God

God was also confirming what they said
At the same time God himself also showed that it is true

and was affirmed by God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as affirmed by means “to witness together with” someone. Here it indicates that God testified along with the followers of Jesus. As they told people about the message of salvation, God showed that what they said was true. He helped them do powerful miracles to confirm the message. Some other ways to translate and was affirmed by God are:

God also joined them in confirming that it was trueBased on the Kankanaey back translation on TW.

God verified what they said (GW)

2:4b

through signs, wonders, various miracles,

with various proofs, awesome deeds, and different types of miracles,
by causing/helping them to do many kinds of powerful miracles and wonders,

through signs, wonders, various miracles: This phrase tells how God confirmed that the message was true. He caused the people who spoke the message to do signs, wonders, and miracles. These three words have similar meanings. They all refer to actions that are done by supernatural power.

The word signs implies that the actions have a meaning. The word wonders implies that people are amazed by the actions. The word miracles implies that the actions are done by supernatural power.

In some languages it is more natural to use verbs to describe the actions. In other languages it is more natural to use only one or two words to refer to them. You should translate the meaning in a natural way in your language. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

he caused them to do amazing miracles to show that the message was true

God helped them to do this work in that they did miracles before the peopleOtomi back translation on TW.

all kinds of miracles and wonders (GNT)

These words also occur together in Acts 2:22; 2 Corinthians 12:12 and 2 Thessalonians 2:9. If you have translated these passages, see how you translated the words there. See also the notes on each word below. For more information, see miracle, sign, wonder, mighty work in KBT.

signs: The word signs refers to miracles that have a meaning. They show or prove something. Here the signs showed that Jesus’ message about God’s way of salvation was true.The word signs is also used in the Gospel of John in this sense, for example, in John 2:11, 3:2, and 4:48.

wonders: The word wonders refers to amazing events or actions. It often occurs with the word “signs” to refer to actions that God causes his messengers to be able to perform.

various miracles: The Greek word for miracles is the plural of the noun “power.” It can refer to a miraculous act of healing or to another act which cannot be done by human power or knowledge. The word various means “many kinds.” Other ways to translate the phrase various miracles are:

many kinds of miracles (NCV)

other powerful acts (GW)

2:4c

and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

and by distributing gifts from the Holy Spirit to people as he wanted.
and with other gifts from the Holy Spirit that he decided to give.

and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will: The phrase and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will is another way by which God showed that the message of salvation was true. In some languages it may be helpful to translate 2:4c as a separate sentence. For example:

He also confirmed the message by causing the Holy Spirit to distribute special abilities. He did this just the way he wanted to do it.

gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will: Scholars differ over the exact meaning of this phrase. The most likely meaning is that when God gives his Holy Spirit to people, the Holy Spirit causes them to have the various powers and abilities that God wants them to have. Through using these abilities (gifts), his people show that the message of salvation is true.

Some ways to translate this meaning are:

and with other gifts from the Holy Spirit as he wanted (GW)

and he gave them other kinds of power from the Holy Spirit, just as he decided to give to each one

Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God, together with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is “spirit” in the sense that he is a living being who does not have a physical body. He is “holy” in the sense that he is God and unique from every other being. He is perfect in every way and is completely pure and sinless.

Some ways to translate Holy Spirit are:

Spirit/Breath of God

Holy/Sacred Spirit

Do not imply that the Holy Spirit is like the ghost of a dead person or that God has died.

according to His will: The phrase according to His will means “just as God wanted.” In some languages it is more natural to translate the phrase His will with a verb or clause. For instance:

just as he wanted (NCV)

as he himself chose

See also the examples in the preceding note.

General Comment on 2:4a–c

In Greek this verse is the final part of a sentence that began in 2:2. Most English versions begin a new sentence here. Some ways to translate this verse are:

God himself confirmed their witness with signs and marvels and miracles of all kinds, and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the various ways he wills. (NJB)

At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will. (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

σημείοις & καὶ τέρασιν, καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν

˱by˲_signs & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ Θεοῦ σημείοις τέ καί τέρασιν καί ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν καί Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μερισμοῖς κατά τήν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν)

The author uses three similar words to describe supernatural acts that God empowers his people to do. The word signs emphasizes that these acts reveal something; the word wonders emphasizes that these acts are amazing or unusual; the word miracles emphasizes that these acts are powerful. The author uses these three words to show that God uses lots of things to “testify” to the truth of the message about salvation. If your language does not have different words that emphasize these three aspects of the supernatural acts, you could combine two or all three of these words into one word or phrase and emphasize the variety of testimonies in another way. Alternate translation: [by many and various miracles] or [by many signs and various miracles]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ Θεοῦ σημείοις τέ καί τέρασιν καί ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν καί Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μερισμοῖς κατά τήν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of will, you could express the idea by using a verb such as “want” or “chose.” Alternate translation: [in just the way he wanted to do it]

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτοῦ

˱of˲_him

The word his could refer to: (1) God. Alternate translation: [God’s] (2) the Holy Spirit. Alternate translation: [the Spirit’s] or [his own]

Parallel HEB 2:4

Section 2:1–4: Warning: Do not ignore what God has spoken

2:4

2:4a

2:4b

2:4c

General Comment on 2:4a–c