Psalms 44 to 50
In searching commentaries about Psalms 44 to 50 there seems to be no agreement on their historic timing or setting, but we insist that if we are going to interpret the Bible correctly we need to know both of these things, to whom the portion was first written and their background both national and historical. Commentaries do suggest, with reasons given, and try to insert them into the times of the kings of Israel, reasons which might just as easily be attributed to the postexhilic history and the conditions of the returned remnant.
Other commentaries have no comments at all. And even some of the headings ignore what the subject of the psalm is. Eg. Psalm 45 is labeled as a song of loves, when with very little inspection one can see that it is about the person of the altogether lovely One, the Messiah, and only incidentally about his loves or lovers. Other commentators completely ignore the historic background and only look forward to what the prophecies in them mean when applied to the Church, but that is missing the point that these writings were meaningful and instructive to the very people who first heard them when they were first composed. God had a message for them first.
Moreover it is obvious that these works were written before the four hundred years of silence to a very specific Jewish audience, so there must have been a purely Jewish background for them in terms of time and place. I propose that these particular psalms were the very last psalms included in the Canon of Scripture and composed and placed there by the very men who searched out the histories of Israel and Judah and recorded them in the Books of the Chronicles. Oracles of God that Jesus said were not only perfect but eternally perfect.
We read in Proverbs 25:1 “These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out” showing that these scribes had access to the old records long after they were written. There is no word at the time of the captivity that the written histories of Israel and Judah were deliberately destroyed by the Syrian or Babylonian conquerors so it seems that these musicians, historians, singers, scribes continued in Babylon. There were kings of Israel or Judah up to the time of the captivity but none afterward, except the promised One who had not yet come.
Logical Points to Consider:
First that the blessings to believers and curses on unbelievers in psalms 44 to 50 is very similar to those contained in the words of the last two prophets, Malachi and Zechariah and also in Ezra and Nehemiah, all postexile. Nehemiah stated that it was these same things that distressed him, for before he went he heard that there was much destruction and reproach and barrenness, and when he arrived he found also that there was little righteousness or separation of the people from the nations. Ezra the scribe found the conditions in Jerusalem to be the same many years earlier.
Second that the setting of these psalms is Jerusalem the chosen city of God in the land of blessing that had been given to Israel, but at a time of barrenness, reproach and apostasy just as it was after the return.
Third, the temple of Solomon and its magnificent centrality is never mentioned, although there does seem to be a place of worship where the priests were in control. This also is as it would be after the remnant had returned from Babylon and the new smaller temple was built. That new building would not be worth mentioning..
Fourth, there is no mention here of a ruling current king in Jerusalem, but the focus is on the coming King. Like the claims of the last prophet Malachi the current leadership is seen as unwilling to change so there is (was) nothing more to be said until the real King of Israel comes.
Fifth is that these psalms tell us that idolatry was not the problem. Before the deportation there were very few times when it was not a real problem and we are told that the idolatry in Babylon was so revolting to the Jews that it was never again a national problem.
Sixth that the sons of Korah and Asaph, family names of people descended from original Levites, were the scribes and keepers of the records and responsible for the music and worship of Israel from the time of David and throughout the captivity. Some of them returned to Jerusalem. The majority of them may have stayed in Babylon and produced among other records the Babylonian Talmud, but those who came had access to the same library of history and psalms and prophets. Even in Jesus’ day the scribes were recognized as a separate group from the priests and judges, for all three of these gatekeepers were condemned by Him. Those who returned from Babylon no doubt would have been faithful in believing that the blessing of God would be on them in the land of promise.
Other arguments could be made that these psalms were composed by and for the returning remnant from the Babylonian captivity, but let these suffice for now so that we can benefit from looking at this set of psalms as of that period. However before we do we need take a better look at these sons of Korah. Where did they fit in to life in that time as we see it in Ezra and Nehemiah and Zechariah and Malachi?
Sons of Korah
The scriptures tell us very little about them except to note that they were Levites, and since they did not come from the tribe of Judah, for Judah was the tribe of promise that the ancestry lists were about, we need to look at what may reasonably be inferred from what we know of the general history and the text.
We know that the Levites lived in different cities all over Israel, they did not all live in Jerusalem. We also know that they had no ancestral land or possessions waiting for them when they came back as the other people did. We also know that chosen groups of them were detailed by David to report to Jerusalem to carry out their service on a rotational basis. So for most of the year, if there were enough others of them, they would in their towns and villages, but they had a regular schedule in Jerusalem. We also know that the people of the other tribes were to give their tithes to the Levites of their cities, but because harvests were so poor after the return they must have been neglected and very poor. So the younger of these freed captives would no doubt be wage earners to their neighbours learning shepherding building and husbandry.
But we also know that they had educational privileges that others did not have. Their fathers were well trained in reading and writing and oratory and musical composition and they knew by memory all the chanting and singing that David had inspired. There is no doubt that the fathers taught these things, everything they knew, to their sons at least and likely to daughters also. So when their turn came to go up to Jerusalem they were ready to recite the psalms and other works to the congregation. In the book of Nehemiah it is inferred that some were conscripted to remain in Jerusalem to encourage the people with singing and music while building the walls and carrying both trumpets and swords.
Another thing that the name, sons of Korah, indicates is that there were sons among them. And although they had to be 20 years old to do the music for the congregation there were some younger than others. The opening verse of this series of psalms makes a statement to this effect that there were older and younger in their group. Indeed the whole tenor of psalms 44 to 49 is different enough from the other psalms that we can think of them as a set or sequence of worship songs composed and sung by the younger members. Dare we call them the Jerusalem Youth Worship Band?
And although we include psalm 50 in this special group it is not attributed to the same clan but to Asaph. Also it seems more traditional, more solemn, and is addressed more directly to unbelievers. And yet it fits in to this group of refugees, the remnant from Babylon. As the final psalm it definitely leaves nothing more needing to be said, and so it is a fit ending to Old Testament inspiration. To begin the start of the silent 400 years. Those of that day who arranged the order of the psalms my not have known that it was the final revelation or they might have made it the final psalm instead of the one we call Psalm 150.
The Prophets Did Not Understand Everything
1 Pet 1:10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that {would come} to you made careful searches and inquiries,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look into.
There Were Believers and Unbelievers in Israel
Mal 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard {it,} and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. 17 "They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare {My} own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." 18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
It has already been said and bears repeating that Psalms 44 to 49 need to be studied as a series, a set that progresses from the concept that was revealed to King David that he and his sons for generations were merely Princes under God, and that His plan was to eventually send the Real King to reign as absolute monarch in Jerusalem, and that anointed King would make all Israel faithful and righteous, and by this make all other nations to worship and obey God. David also knew and taught in his writings that this same Person was his redeemer, he did not have all the details that we know, but he believed it, and so did faithful believers like the ones who wrote these psalms.
Thus the central theme and key word in these psalms is the word King, not an earthly one like the king in Babylon but the coming promised King of Israel. And the progression is from that underlying belief to the revelation of the Person of the King and on to comfort and hope for the present because of what He will yet do. Also warnings of dreadful punishment to those who forget and those who disobey as seen in psalm 50 the final psalm of this set.
Psalm 44
1 O God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us The work that You did in their days, In the days of old. 2 You with Your own hand drove out the nations; Then You planted them; You afflicted the peoples, Then You spread them abroad. 3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.
4 You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob. 5 Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. 7 But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us. 8 In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9 Yet You have rejected {us} and brought us to dishonor, And do not go out with our armies. 10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary; And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. 11 You give us as sheep to be eaten And have scattered us among the nations. 12 You sell Your people cheaply, And have not profited by their sale. 13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and a derision to those around us. 14 You make us a byword among the nations, A laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my dishonor is before me And my humiliation has overwhelmed me, 16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant. 18 Our heart has not turned back, And our steps have not deviated from Your way, 19 Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals And covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God Or extended our hands to a strange god, 21 Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. 22 But for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever. 24 Why do You hide Your face {And} forget our affliction and our oppression? 25 For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth. 26 Rise up, be our help, And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.
In Psalm 44 we read (vss 1-3 )that these singers have heard from their own fathers about what God has done in past days to the nation from Abraham down to the present time. The composer knows that the omnipotent King, God, (vss 4-8) shall still work for them, but the present conditions (vss 9-22 ) are so bad that he wonders whether they will ever see the promised prosperity. And next there is prayer (vss 23-26 ) for deliverance, prayer to the same one that King David knew as his King, to God the King who will redeem because of His own loving-kindness.
Psalm 45
1 My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2 You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. 3 Gird Your sword on {Your} thigh, O Mighty One, {In} Your splendor and Your majesty! 4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, For the cause of truth and meekness {and} righteousness; Let Your right hand teach You awesome things. 5 Your arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under You; {Your arrows are} in the heart of the King's enemies.
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. 8 All Your garments are {fragrant with} myrrh and aloes {and} cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. 9 Kings' daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father's house; 11 Then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of Tyre {will come} with a gift; The rich among the people will seek your favor. 13 The King's daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold. 14 She will be led to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her companions who follow her, Will be brought to You. 15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; They will enter into the King's palace.
16 In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make them princes in all the earth. 17 I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.
In psalm 45 we wonder what might have occasioned this unusual enthusiastic rush to tell about the King. Might it not be that the composer has been musing on what was said in the previous psalm, especially on the word King and what it meant? And it seems that right there God chose to reveal Himself to him, for he is now boiling over with this revelation, wondering how he can write it down or tell it quickly enough. Not just what God has done in days long past, but Who He is now and will be in the future and always has been. When God chooses to reveal Himself to us it is so much better than looking back at the things He has done. To the writer it must have been as startling a revelation as Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness in Isaiah chapter 6.
Isaiah 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
How much we need the same revelation today to see Him! To illustrate how intimate it is when God reveals Himself to a person, just think what reply do we get when we ask, “Who is Jesus?” Most likely the reply will speak of the things that Jesus has done, and almost always what He has done for that person. And that is important but it is not who Jesus is. He exists, has always been even before He did anything and certainly before He created me, so that answer does not answer the question of who He is. He does what He does because of who He is not because of me, and this is what the psalmist saw and could not get it out quickly enough. It was a revival type of revelation to him that this King was both a man and God and he had to tell it. He said, “I speak of things pertaining to the King!” (vss 1-8)
The last part of psalm 45 (vss 10-16) is not the way we would express the splendor and worship of Jesus today, but it derives from the Oriental majesty and splendor that the psalmist knew from Persia, while still knowing that God’s greatness is far greater. Yes, that King of the Jews is our same King Jesus, but to those who first heard these psalms He was worshipped and honored as the coming King who would reign in Jerusalem, He would be King Messiah. If it was hope for them who did not know the full meaning of their own prophecy, how much more for is it for us who now know who the King really is?
And to make sure that everybody knows that the psalm is about the bridegroom who makes the bride glorious we read the last verse 17, “I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; not the bride’s name but the King’s name. Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.”
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar {and} foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.
10 "Cease {striving} and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46 was written with this same King in mind and what He will do and how His presence with us causes a river of blessing (vs 4) to flow for our joy and safety even though times are as bad as they can get. Some think that this psalm is really part of the previous psalm for it continues praising the same King, the Lord of Hosts, (vs 7) the God of Jacob who is our stronghold. Selah. The people of that day knew the blessing was for them just as much as we know that the blessing is for us today. Is it not wonderful that every one of the psalms is just as applicable to us today as it was to the people to whom it was first addressed? Only God could inspire these writings in such a way as that..
Psalm 47
1 O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. 2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth. 3 He subdues peoples under us And nations under our feet. 4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
5 God has ascended with a shout, The LORD, with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; Sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with a skillful psalm. 8 God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne. 9 The princes of the people have assembled themselves {as} the people of the God of Abraham, For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.
Thinking of this group of psalms as composed consecutively by the same author or group we see in Psalm 47 that now every one of the group has gotten in on the blessing (vss 1-9) and they want the whole assembly to clap too. What an exuberant group, but what a wonderful revelation they have had and what marvelous prophecies and promises too. Why not praise God? And to interpret the exclamation word (selah!) in this psalm as today’s youth would, “WOW!” Yes, indeed He is Fairest Lord Jesus.
Psalm 48
1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain. 2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion {in} the far north, The city of the great King.
3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold. 4 For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together. 5 They saw {it,} then they were amazed; They were terrified, they fled in alarm. 6 Panic seized them there, Anguish, as of a woman in childbirth. 7 With the east wind You break the ships of Tarshish. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever. Selah.
9 We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple. 10 As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers; 13 Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell {it} to the next generation.
14 For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.
Psalm 48 follows the theme of the King to His city Jerusalem where the restoration work is filling all the work week of the people. Notice the city of God, the city of the Great King, the city of the Lord of Hosts, Mount Zion all bringing glory to God. The petty kings of the surrounding nations also noticed how beautiful and impregnable the city which they despised had become and (vss 4-6) they are terrified because they know now that God is great and He fights for His people.
The psalm closes with an oblique reference to the opening verse of the first psalm of the series by inviting (vss 12-14) the people to walk around and look at what God has helped them to accomplish by rebuilding the walls and towers and palaces, then they too can tell their children, the next generation, what the Lord has done for this generation.
Psalm 49
1 Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 Both low and high, Rich and poor together. 3 My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart {will be} understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, 6 Even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches? 7 No man can by any means redeem {his} brother Or give to God a ransom for him-- 8 For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease {trying} forever-- 9 That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay. 10 For he sees {that even} wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inner thought is {that} their houses are forever {And} their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. 12 But man in {his} pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the way of those who are foolish, And of those after them who approve their words. Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives he congratulates himself-- And though {men} praise you when you do well for yourself-- 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They will never see the light. 20 Man in {his} pomp, yet without understanding, Is like the beasts that perish.
Psalm 49 is the application of the previous revelations to everybody inside and outside of the congregation of the returned from exile Jews. In fact it assumes that most of them are not believers at all as Malachi charged when he lamented in “Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard {it,} and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.” This rebuke is not only to the outside nations, but for all unbelievers, forgetters of God and what He has done for them even within the families of Israel. Nehemiah tells about these and how he had to deal with them.
Sadly we note that the psalmist expects these words of wisdom from God (vs 1-4) to be just parables or riddles to many, perhaps to most of his hearers. Again we are reminded of a verse that God gave to Isaiah, “Isaiah 44:18 They have no knowledge, and understand not; for he hath plastered their eyes, that they may not see; and their hearts, that they may not understand.” Then he goes on to show how impotent man is compared to the eternal God.
As a believer himself the psalmist is assured of salvation (vs 15) for the Lord will receive him, even while outsiders and inside unbelievers will assuredly perish without salvation. Thus ends a group or set or series of psalms with a wonderful message of the wonderful King of Glory and His Worthiness, with a wonderful testimony from some of the believers and yet the sad condition of the many who will not believe. It could well be that these were the last words through the Sons of Korah that God inspired until the King came as baby Jesus.
Psalm 50
1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.
3 May our God come and not keep silence; Fire devours before Him, And it is very tempestuous around Him. 4 He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people: 5 "Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." 6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah.
7 "Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. 8 "I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. 9 "I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. 10 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 "I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 "If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. 13 "Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; 15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."
16 But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? 17 "For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. 18 "When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. 19 "You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. 20 "You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son. 21 "These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state {the case} in order before your eyes.
22 "Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear {you} in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. 23 "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders {his} way {aright} I shall show the salvation of God."
Although Psalm 50 is by a different author it should be considered belonging with the group of psalms of the sons of Korah, for Asaph belonged to another clan of Levites. He also seems to have been a keen believer but with a more traditional presentation. And his message seems to be a combination of the youthful inspirational style of the previous 6 psalms mixed with the heavy judgemental messages of the prophets, for he has a message of hope and comfort for the believers and a far heavier message of judgement for the those who forget God.
The opening words of the psalm do not refer to the King lest people get the idea that God is merely a national ruler, but to the Mighty One, God of everything. That He has already spoken and calls every corner of the globe to listen up and pay careful attention. Such a commanding call to attention is exactly what we expect the King of Psalm 2 to issue to His subjects. He has all the authority to rule and judge from His throne in Jerusalem, the place that He has made perfect, and He will not be silent. To which the psalmist adds his amen (vs 3)
The setting of the admonition that follows this introduction is like the parable Jesus told about how the sheep, the believing, will be separated from and dealt with differently from unbelievers. But even the sheep are not so innocent for they have not been thankful and they should have been thankful all the time. Yet even now if they offer to Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving He will rescue them. (vss 7-15)
On the contrary there is no remedy for the wicked, (vss 16-23) the unbelievers, who hope for help from God, unless they repent and change their doings. End of warning.
Both the blessings and judgements or this psalm are very fitting for the last words that God said before Jesus came. And if we consider what the Apostle writes to the Hebrews we are led to believe that the only addition to what He had already told them in the law and the prophets and these writings would be in Jesus, the completed fullness of what we can see of God. The Messiah, the King, the Redeemer. The GodMan.
Hebrews 1
Note in these New Testament verses that quotations from the Old Testament have been CAPITALIZED.
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.
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again, "I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, "AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM." 7 And of the angels He says, "WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE."
8 But of the Son {He says,} "YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. 9 "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS." 10 And, "YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; 11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, 12 AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP; LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END." 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET"?
Heb 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away {from it.}
